NZ v SL 1st T20I Review: New Zealand ground Sri Lanka by a narrow margin

Sri Lanka faltered and fumbled but came seriously close to the imposing target of 182 set by New Zealand. However, in the end, their efforts weren’t enough and as they fell short of the target by just three runs.

Dinesh Chandimal, the stand-in captain for the injured Lasith Malinga won the toss in front of the a sell-out crowd at the Mount Maunganui and chose to bowl first. Martin Guptill continued his stellar performance against Sri Lanka as he struck a 34-ball 58 along with Kane Williamson, who made 53 off 42. Dressed in beige & brown jerseys, both the openers laid the perfect platform for the win after the they raced to 101 runs partnership at a run rate of over 10 an over. Guptill, in particular, was aggressive right from the first over after he hit two boundaries in space of three deliveries and a six off the last ball. Williamson also batted in the same vein, finding the fence at least once in almost every over.

The partnership was brought to a halt after Guptill was run out by Kapugedera. Williamson and Colin Munro continued in the same fashion but Williamson’s stay at the crease was cut short in the 15^th over by Kulasekara. Ross Taylor (22 from 9 balls) and Grant Elliot (10 from 6 balls) provided the last aggressive thrust with their cameo to take the Kiwis to 182 after the end of 20 overs. The Kiwis looked set for 200 plus before Sri Lanka pulled things back, in the end, to ensure there is no extravagant target to chase. But, the total was still imposing.

SL did not have the start they would have expected. Pacers Trent Boult and Matt Henry punctured the Lankan batting line-up after the duo scalped two wickets each to bring Sri Lanka to 42/4 by the end of the sixth over. Dilshan, Chandimal, Jayasuriya and Matthews all were dismissed for single-digit scores. To top it up, leg-spinner Ish Sodhi also chipped in the wicket of Gunathilaka to simmer them down to 84/5. Gunathilaka (46 from 29 balls) was batting with intent and looked dangerous for the Kiwis. It was a worrisome situation to be in during a run chase.

But, from this stage, the middle order showed its fight. Milinda Siriwardana and Thisara Perera put together 42 runs for the fifth wicket, batting at a run rate of over 9 an over. The scoring rate was not an issue once Perera arrived at the crease but the runs mattered. And, this pair got them in quickly while keeping the required rate in control. However, the fast bowling duo of Boult and Henry were back into the equation as they removed both the well-set batsmen who were threatening to pull down the curtains for New Zealand.

The partnership was broken as Matt Henry got them the breakthrough in the 15th over with the wicket of Perera (28 from 19 balls). Siriwardana (42 from 31 balls) was also made to depart by Boult. The game came back on New Zealand’s side at this stage again as 30 runs were needed for the Lankans from 18 balls with two new batsmen at the crease.

Kulasekara managed 11 runs from the following over by Ish Sodhi but Mitchell McClenaghan tight 19th over meant that Grant Elliot was required to defend 13 runs off the last over. And, he did not disappoint as he picked up the wickets of Kulasekara (14 from 9 balls). The match was virtually brought to an end after Kapugedera was run out off the next delivery as he fell short at the wicketkeeper’s end while trying for a double. Eight runs were needed off the last delivery and But, Lakmal and Vandersay were unsuccessful in doing that as the Kiwis sealed a narrow victory by three runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Brief Scores:

New Zealand: 182/4 in 20 overs (Guptill 58; Kulasekara 2/26)

Sri Lanka: 179/9 in 20 overs (Gunathilaka 46; Boult 3/21)