Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2024. Second one day international between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Pallekele.
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In the second ODI in Pallekele, Sri Lanka won by a slim margin of three wickets, and Kusal Mendis’ undefeated 73 overtook Mark Chapman’s 76 to give them an insurmountable 2-0 lead going into the series. They have not defeated New Zealand in an ODI series since 2012. After being given a poor goal of 210 in a rain-shortened 47-over match, Sri Lanka had to put in a lot of effort on a slow surface as New Zealand’s variety of spin options continued to chip away.
However, the hosts prevailed thanks to a series of mini-partnerships, which culminated in Kusal and Maheesh Theekshana’s unbroken eighth wicket stand of 47 off 59, the best of the innings. With statistics of 4 for 36 in 10 overs, Michael Bracewell was the most effective bowler for the visitors. Along with Mitchell Santner, who finished with the pitiful numbers of 1 for 33, he was one of two bowlers allotted for 10 overs throughout the innings. However, Sri Lanka astutely saw their threat and targeted the remainder of the assault to steal the victory.
New Zealand having been bowled out for 209 earlier in a spectacular catching display, which was much aided by Mitchell Hay’s 49 off 62 and Chapman’s 76 off 81, two of just four New Zealand batsmen to reach double figures. Theekshana had done his share with the ball, taking 3 for 31, prior to his valiant efforts with the bat. The industrious Asitha Fernando ended with two scalps, while Jeffrey Vandersay also took three. However, it was always going to need a unique batting effort to keep the two teams apart on a surface where almost every spinner proved dangerous to some extent.
And Kusal delivered that in plenty. Kusal quickly chose a more cautious strategy after entering the game at the loss of the first wicket within the fifth over. A top edge from his attempt at an escape shot, the slog sweep, floated comfortably over the keeper after the first ball he faced spun fiercely past his forward defense. After a tight lbw shout went in his favour a few overs later, Kusal was once again scrutinized; the judgment was only maintained on review because to an umpire’s call on impact.
Kusal wouldn’t receive his first barrier until the 26th delivery he confronted because of these nervous periods. In actuality, he would only score six boundaries in his innings overall; rather, his grit was more evident in this one, as he scored 46 singles and two doubles, or 67% of his total runs, which is an unusually high percentage of non-boundary runs for a Kusal Mendis innings. The fact that he spent the most of his innings dealing with cramps or perhaps a groin injury says a lot about his effort that evening.
However, Mendis could not have won this match by himself. In addition to his five-run partnership with Kamindu Mendis, Kusal made significant contributions with each of his other partners, scoring 18, 19, 28, 39, 31, and 47 runs, each of which helped Sri Lanka go closer to the finish line. One of the most significant was with Janith Liyanage, when the two joined forces in the 22nd over with Kusal already suffering from cramps and Sri Lanka in a vulnerable position at 93 for 5.
With Glenn Phillips and Ish Sodhi bowling well together and New Zealand looking for further breakthroughs, Liyanage was the perfect partner to keep the spin danger and strike rotation at bay. The innings was stabilized by this, but Sri Lanka was still 78 runs short of their mark when Liyanage fell after gloving a bouncer from Nathan Smith through to the keeper. The momentum was then significantly shifted by Dunith Wellalage, who executed his part flawlessly by hitting three straight boundaries off Smith.
Nevertheless, New Zealand was aware that they were only one wicket away from joining Sri Lanka’s tail. Sri Lankan thoughts may have strayed to that second T20I loss when Wellalage miscued one to mid-on with 47 remaining. However, Theekshana, who had failed to finish the game in the first place, shown much more grit in the second game, hitting three boundaries in all, including a crucial six over deep backward point. After Sri Lanka had strangled the New Zealand innings with two first-inning rain stoppages, it was difficult to envisage such a nerve-racking conclusion at the midway point.
The highlight was definitely the catching, when Sri Lanka hung onto even more difficult opportunities despite losing some difficult ones. At the vanguard of this brilliance was Avishka Fernando, who dismissed Phillips and Chapman with two practically similar grabs, diving forward in the deep to scoop the ball millimeters off the ground. He wasn’t finished yet, removing Bracewell with yet another outstanding catch on the run and slide.
With a spectacular dash from long-off to mid-off, followed by a full-length dive to hang on to a Santner skier, Pathum Nissanka also put his name in the pot for catch of the match. With the exception of a few careless boundary errors, Sri Lanka’s ground fielding was excellent as well. The infielders in especially were smothering the visitors hitters and fighting for every run. This was exemplified by the incredible 157 dot balls that were played throughout the innings, which had already been cut short to 47 overs because of the rain.
After stumbling to 98 for 4 in the 24th over, New Zealand enjoyed their strongest stretch of the innings. In this instance, Chapman and Hay worked hard to save the innings, but they only managed 13 runs in the first 41 deliveries they faced because of the spinners’ strangling effect. However, as both hitters finally started to take some chances, the partnership eventually soared to 75 off 78. New Zealand may have been aiming for a total of 250 runs, but sixty-two runs were scored between the 30th and 36th over.
But on a spinner’s deck, Asitha had the biggest impact, coming back for a double-wicket blow to dismiss Bracewell and Chapman. Hay tried to compete with the tail, but it was a slog for the visitors after that. One run shy of his first ODI fifty, he was the final batter to fall.
