Watch cricket video highlights of New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2024. First Twenty/20 between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Venue of the match will be Dambulla.
Copyright – Third Party Reference Inline Linking Embedded Video from Youtube
Report
On a turning Dambulla pitch, Sri Lanka’s spinners took six wickets between them, kept the scoring pace under control, and held New Zealand to 135 all out. Even given the circumstances, it should have been a simple chase. But it required a calm head, which Captain Charith Asalanka gave with his 35 not out of 28. Sri Lanka finished with six balls to spare and four wickets in hand, albeit the game was never particularly tight. Remember, New Zealand is testing out some young players at the end of their lengthy South-Asian spring.
The opening six overs set the tone for the rest of the innings. The ball began to turn square almost immediately, with Maheesh Theekshana ripping it huge in the opening over of the innings despite being a moderate turner. Theekshana would only strike on the final ball of the innings, lbw Will Young for a run-a-ball 19. But first, Dunith Wellalage hit Tim Robinson in front with an arm ball, then Nuwan Thushara had Mark Chapman flip a slower ball to deep square leg. Overall, Sri Lanka’s slow-pitch bowling was exceptional.
When the fielding limits were lifted, New Zealand trailed 31–3. They would also dominate the middle overs, with New Zealand scoring only 66 runs from the following 10 overs and losing five wickets in the process. Kusal Perera helped Sri Lanka get through the powerplay, hitting 22 off 15 when fielding limitations were in effect, albeit his side lost Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis during this time. Kamindu Mendis must also play a role in this historic Sri Lanka triumph. He made 23 out of 16, primarily after the powerplay stopped.
After watching what New Zealand achieved in the Tests in India, you can never be too certain that they don’t have anything unique up their sleeves. Asalanka ensured that, despite Sri Lanka’s continued wicket losses, he was there to see the triumph through, blasting two sixes off his first 11 balls before toning it down and smacking it about as Sri Lanka scored the final runs. Zakary Foulkes, a bowling allrounder, used all of his skills in only his third international match.
First, he scored 27 not out of 16 runs, reducing New Zealand’s humiliating total to a manageable one. With the ball, he bowled Nissanka with a fullish delivery, bounced Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and had Wanindu Hasaranga holing out to finish with 3 for 20.
