Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2024. Second Twenty/20 between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Dambulla.
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Roughly 20 days after the women’s team won the T20 World Cup, and around a week after the men’s Test squad annihilated India at home, New Zealand cricketers continue to perform the near-impossible. On this occasion, they protected 108 all out on a difficult, but not unplayable, Dambulla surface. Lockie Ferguson bowled only two overs before leaving the field due to a calf injury, but he claimed a hat-trick to demolish Sri Lanka’s top order, with figures of 3 for 7. As has frequently happened throughout this protracted trip to South Asia, Glenn Phillips also played a key role in New Zealand’s triumph.
He had only had to deliver the penultimate over due to Ferguson’s unavailability, yet he grabbed three wickets despite being out for four off nine. Pathum Nissanka, who had been the backbone of Sri Lanka, took the most valuable of those wickets. He made 52 from 50 before attempting to blast Phillips over long-on but failing to clear the defender. But he was the final hitter to be officially removed. As they extracted wickets from the irate batsmen, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner, and Zakary Foulkes had all done a good job of controlling Sri Lanka.
In T20Is, New Zealand has never defended a lower total. Full Members have only failed to complete a chase of this modest size twice. (WI vs. Zim, 2010; Zim vs. Nam, 2023). When Sri Lanka had the opposition 52 for 6 in the 11th over, they would have believed they were nearly guaranteed to win. With Josh Clarkson scoring 24, Santner scoring 19, and Will Young scoring 30, New Zealand managed to put together what appeared to be an uninspiring total. Those innings were all played at a rate below one run per ball. Sri Lanka won easily on Saturday, and this result ties the series 1-1.
Ferguson virtually blew the game open in overs six and eight, despite bowling only half of his overs (he had only just recovered from a right hamstring issue to make it into this XI). After giving up just three singles in his opening five deliveries, he took Kusal Perera’s outside edge with a magnificent, swinging almost-yorker just on off stump, which was well held by a diving Mitchell Hay. He had a little luck for his hat-trick wicket when he hit Kamindu Mendis in front of the stumps with a quick yorker in the next over. The hitter was too late.
A bit far down leg, he pushed the ball to Charith Asalanka, who was attempting another yorker. Hay received the ball low to the ground, but Asalanka, who was in excellent shape, had a little advantage. All of a sudden, Sri Lanka was 34 for 4. Phillips was left to bowl the crucial final over because Ferguson was unable to play through the latter part of the innings and Santner decided to keep Sri Lanka under strain by dismissing his front-runners quite early. With a top-order batsman batting at the crease for a half-century, Sri Lanka required eight runs from it, which is not a lot.
Phillips managed. Nissanka attempted to slog-sweep the second ball after getting on strike, but he was caught by the long-on fielder. Matheesha Pathirana lurched forward and was duly stumped as Phillips slipped a ball past his outside edge on the following ball. Going into the last two deliveries, Sri Lanka still had a chance to win the match or at least draw it. On strike was Maheesh Theekshana, who may occasionally produce boundaries. However, Phillips bowled with courage, adding a bit more top spin to slow down a massive offbreak outside off.
Hay used his gloves to follow down Theekshana’s top edge after he swung, causing a commotion in New Zealand. Ferguson was unable to play through the later portion of the innings, and Santner chose to keep Sri Lanka under pressure by removing his front-runners early, leaving Phillips to deliver the vital last over. Sri Lanka needed eight runs from it, which is not much, given that a top-order batsman was batting at the crease for a half-century. Phillips succeeded. Nissanka got on strike and tried to slog-sweep the second ball, but the long-on fielder nabbed him.
On the next ball, Phillips snuck a ball past Matheesha Pathirana’s outside edge, causing him to stumble forward and be stumped. After getting Young overbalanced while attempting a sweep, Hay was dismissed similarly in the following over. Kusal Mendis, who had been hit on the knee in the previous over, collected the ball down the leg side and threw it down the stumps while Young was out of the crease. This was particularly shrewd wicketkeeping. It was even more amazing that Wanindu accomplished all of this despite suffering a leg injury early in the match. During many of his deliveries, he was limping.
