Sri Lanka secured a three-wicket victory in the second fixture of the three-match ODI series over New Zealand on Sunday (November 17) in Pallekele. The win helped them secure a series victory with a final fixture set to be played at the same venue on Tuesday.
The hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first. In only the second over, Dunith Wellalage breached the defense of Tim Robinson (4). Coming at No. 3, Henry Nicholls (8) struggled during his entire stay, before dragging Maheesh Theekshana’s ball into the stumps.
Although, Will Young (26) was playing well, a sharp turn from Jeffrey Vandersay caught him off-guard as he was stumped. He stitched a crucial 38-run stand with Mark Chapman. Thereafter, Glenn Phillips played a lofted sweep shot against Charith Asalanka, but was caught in a handsome fashion by deep square leg fielder Avishka Fernando.
At 98/4, the visitors needed a solid partnership to steer them to a modest total on the board. At this juncture arrived Mitchell Hay, who played as a second fiddle to Chapman. The southpaw reached his fifty with a big six towards the deep mid-wicket region.
Chapman (74) continued his momentum to secure consistent boundaries, before Avishka Fernando plucked a stunning diving catch to dismiss of Asitha Fernando’s delivery. The likes of Michael Bracewell (0) and skipper Mitchell Santner (6) couldn’t provide contributions to keep the opposition under pressure.
In the end, Hay contributed 49 off 72, as the Black Caps were all-out for 209. Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with three wickets.
Kusal Mendis’s impressive knock seals the deal for Sri Lanka
In response to a 210-run chase, Sri Lanka started on an impressive note. Pathum Nissanka took charge and employed positive intent against Jacob Duffy.
However, Avishka Fernando (5) was dismissed by Mitchell Santner in the fifth over, as he failed to clear the deep mid-wicket fence. Then, Nissanka couldn’t be calculative enough against Michael Bracewell, as he was caught near the 30-yard circle.
Then, Bracewell induced the edge of the in-form batter, Kamindu Mendis (0) put Sri Lanka in a spot of bother. Although captain Charith Asalanka (13) looked comfortable at the crease, he miscued one against Bracewell to get caught at the point region.
Glenn Phillips managed to dismiss Sadeera Samarawickrama (8) as Sri Lanka were stuttering at 93/5. However, Janith Liyanage tried well to support Mendis with his rotation of strikes. The blossoming 39-run stand was broken by Nathan Smith, who bowled a bouncer to get a thick edge of Liyanage (22).
Dunith Wellalage continued his good batting form in ODIs, as he contributed a crucial 18 off 17. In the end, Mendis (74* off 102) and Maheesh Theekshana (27* off 44) took the team home with three wickets and an over (game reduced to 47 overs due to rain) to spare. Bracewell was the top performer for New Zealand with four wickets.
