Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2024. First one day international between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Dambulla.
Copyright – Third Party Reference Inline Linking Embedded Video from Youtube
Report
Together, Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando scored 206 runs and reached hundreds to give Sri Lanka a decisive lead. After their openers got off to a good start, Sri Lanka’s spinners took five wickets for 22 runs to derail the visitors after rain had cut New Zealand’s chase to 27 overs. Ultimately, New Zealand failed to reach the 221 they needed in 27 overs. With too little firepower in their lower order to get them to the necessary pace and too much know-how in Sri Lanka’s assault to allow them to thrive after the collapse, they faltered to 175 for 9.
But Kusal and Avishka were the main architects of Sri Lanka’s triumph. In men’s ODI matches between these two teams, their partnership was the greatest ever for the second wicket. Kusal’s highest individual score was 143 off 128. And even though this surface wasn’t particularly spin-friendly, no pursuing team had scored as much as 290 at Dambulla, so their driving Sri Lanka to their final 324 for 5 before rain ended their innings after 49.2 overs was a major stride towards victory. Ultimately, a lengthy weather delay resulted in a shortened pursuit for New Zealand.
Even their openers, however, who scored 88 runs off 80 balls, were falling short of the necessary pace. Tim Robinson made 35 off 36, and Will Young made 48 off 46. However, they needed major pyrotechnics from people like Mark Chapman and Glenn Phillips. They never showed up. After Pathum Nissanka was removed early on, Kusal and Avishka acquired a lot of momentum during Sri Lanka’s first powerplay, which resulted in 57 runs. Mendis smashed his first two fours of the batting in the fifth over, which was delivered by Jacob Duffy.
He first smoked a straight drive before crashing a short ball in front of midwicket. Avishka scooped a ball down the ground and then swivel-pulled another one over the fine leg boundary for six in the following over, which was delivered by Nathan Smith, who was making his debut. There was a hitch during that time, when Duffy dropped Mendis on 11 because he was unable to hold a fast return catch. Other than that, Sri Lanka’s development went well.
There wasn’t as much spin as anticipated, and when the New Zealand bowlers bowled successive dot balls, Kusal and Avishka found a pattern of accumulation that worked well for both hitters. While Kusal found runs square of the wicket on the off side, Avishka was also a formidable force over cover, going inside-out on numerous occasions. Both of them exploited Michael Bracewell’s and Ish Sodhi’s bowling, since neither player was able to sustain pressure for extended periods of time.
Before Avishka reached his own half-century, his eighth, off his 60th ball, Kusal reached his fifty off the 64th ball he faced. After reaching such milestones, they slightly increased the tempo, although they mostly batted in the same gear. Sodhi dropped Avishka on 77 in the outfield, but the fielder hardly had a chance with his fingertips. Kusal reached his century off 102 balls in the 37th over. The 38th was when Avishka arrived. This was the fourth ODI century for both batters.
Soon after, Avishka was caught at mid-off, but the partnership had brought Sri Lanka to the final overs. In the 39th over, the total at his fall was 223 for 2. Through the final ten, both Kusal and Charith Asalanka were productive. Asalanka found runs square of the wicket, while Kusal mostly hammered spinners down the ground. With four balls left, Asalanka was caught on the square leg boundary as the rain returned. Rain had also fallen early in the game, necessitating a 40-minute pause in the opening over.
New Zealand’s defeat was swift and conclusive once their initial duo was split. Young bowled the 14th of the innings in the same over after Maheesh Theekshana had Robinson stumped, making the first two breakthroughs. After Asalanka bowled Henry Nicholls off the inside edge, Theekshana held onto a screamer from Chapman’s bat at short midwicket, which was also bowled by Asalanka. In just twenty-eight balls, New Zealand had lost their top five when Glenn Phillips cut a legbreak from Jeffrey Vandersay to point.
From there, recovery was always going to be nearly impossible. After taking 3 for 41 in his 8.2 overs, Jacob Duffy had possibly the finest performance of any New Zealand player. Duffy has made a compelling argument for keeping Adam Milne, who recently arrived, in the lineup for Sunday’s second ODI. In this encounter, Robinson, Mitchell Hay, and Nathan Smith—their three debutants—showed the most promise.
