NZ vs SL, 2019 World Cup Match 3: Dominating New Zealand thrash Sri Lanka by 10 wickets
NZ vs SL 2019, World Cup Match 3: The third game of the tournament saw another top class bowling performance - this time from the Kiwis. It was more about pace and bounce yesterday, but today, it was about swing, line and length. The Kiwi bowlers have justified their skipper's decision to bowl first, bowling Sri Lanka out for a meagre 136. Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne carried the bat (becoming the only second player in World Cup history to do so), scoring 52*. However, New Zealand's opening pair of Martin Guptill and Colin Munro chased the target without falling, steering the Kiwis to a comfortable 10-wicket win. Matt Henry was awarded the player of the match for his three wickets. (Match scorecard | When and where to watch)
Highlights, SL vs NZ, 2019 World Cup Match 3: New Zealand (137-0 in 16.1 overs) beat Sri Lanka (136 all out in 29.2 overs) by 10 wickets
* Easy-peasy! A very comfortable win for the Kiwis. They have overhauled the minuscule target without even breaking a sweat. Martin Guptill and Colin Munro approached the chase smoothly and apart from a few streaky shots, they always looked under control. Both the New Zealand openers scored fifties and handed Sri Lanka their first 10-wicket loss in a World Cup match.
19.20 IST: Jeevan Mendis to Colin Munro, NEW ZEALAND WIN BY 10 WICKETS with 203 balls remaining! Flighted delivery, landing full around leg, Munro flicks it behind square leg for a run.
19.16 IST: Lasith Malinga to Martin Guptill, FOUR! Action replay of the previous ball and it's a no-ball also. As soon as Slinga delivers it short down the leg side, Martin pulls it down to long leg for another boundary. Free Hit time...
19.14 IST: Lasith Malinga to Martin Guptill, FOUR! Blazed away! Short and down the leg side, Guptill swivels on the back foot and pulls it thunderously towards long leg. There is a fielder present but it's hit so hard that he fails to even react in time. Just 8 more needed to close this game.
19.12 IST: Lasith Malinga to Martin Guptill, Malinga stays to 'round the wicket for the right-hander also. Serves again on the pads and Martin clips it towards long leg. They push hard this time and collect a couple of runs.
19.10 IST: Drinks break. 17 runs needed off 210 balls with 10 wickets intact. New Zealand are cruising will be an understatement.
19.07 IST: Jeevan Mendis to Martin Guptill, SIX! 18 more needed! Sees the flight and his eyes lit up. He dances down the track, gets to the pitch of the ball and lofts it over long on.
* Jeevan Mendis is introduced into the attack.
19.03 IST: Thisara Perera to Colin Munro, FOUR! Shot! Right from the middle of the bat. Perera offers a bit of width and Munro buys it quickly. Gives it the full whack of his bat and drills it through wide mid off for a boundary.
19.00 IST: Thisara Perera to Colin Munro, 8th ODI fifty for Colin Munro! He makes room for this delivery and eases it in the gap at mid-wicket for a couple of runs. Fine knock from him and this will give him immense confidence heading forward. Like his partner, he too struggled a bit initially, but then got his touch back.
18.57 IST: Isuru Udana to Martin Guptill, SIX! 35th ODI fifty for Martin Guptill and the century partnership also comes up. Martin gives charge to the pacer and receives a length ball in return. He does well to line himself behind the delivery and hammers it over wide long on for a maximum. A rise smile on his face as he raises his bat to acknowledge the crowd. Great beginning to his World Cup campaign, although he was a bit scratchy initially.
18.55 IST: Isuru Udana to Colin Munro, Beauty of a delivery! Udana dishes out a length ball just outside off, Munro tries to push it through the line but the ball straightens after landing and beats the outside edge.
18.52 IST: Thisara Perera to Colin Munro, FOUR! Boom! Aggression shown by Munro. He skips down the track as soon as the bowler releases the ball. It turns out to be in his zone and he thwacks it past the diving mid off fielder for a boundary. Under 50 required now.
18.51 IST: Thisara Perera to Martin Guptill, On middle and leg, Martin tries to flick but misses. It goes off his pads to short fine leg and they steal a leg bye.
* Powerplay 2 signalled! Now 4 fielders can be placed outside the 30-yard circle till the 40th over.
18.45 IST: Thisara Perera to Colin Munro, FOUR! Edged and a boundary. No slip in place. Back of a length delivery outside off, angling away, Munro pushes inside the line and edges it past the keeper for a boundary. 77 runs in the Powerplay 1!
18.42 IST: Thisara Perera to Martin Guptill, FOUR! Much-better this time from Guptill. He fetches a short delivery from wide outside off and punishes it via a short-arm jab. Good connection and it races away to the deep mid-wicket fence.
* Thisara Perera is introduced into the attack now.
18.38 IST: Isuru Udana to Martin Guptill, FOUR! Streaky! Width on offer outside off, Guptill goes chasing after it and throws his bat at it. The ball kisses the toe end and screams away to the third man fence.
* Isuru Udana to bowl now.
18.35 IST: Suranga Lakmal to Colin Munro, FOUR! It nearly went into the hands of the square leg fielder inside the ring. Lakmal gets too straight with his line and serves a fuller length ball. Munro flicks it aerially past the in-ring fielder for a boundary.
18.32 IST: Lasith Malinga to Colin Munro, 50 up for New Zealand! Back of a length delivery on middle, Munro stands tall inside the crease and pulls it through square leg. Udana runs across to his left in the deep and dives to stop the ball with one hand. He then immediately releases to the fine leg fielder who sends it back in play. Two taken by then.
18.30 IST: Lasith Malinga to Colin Munro, FOUR! Not much thinking going into the bowling, it seems. The third man is up and Malinga bowls a slower short ball outside off. Munro doesn't need second invitation to punish it over backward point.
18.27 IST: Suranga Lakmal to Colin Munro, SIX! That's the charge from Munro and he benefits with a biggie. Smart thinking from the batsman. He realizes that the bowler will alter his length after going for a boundary last ball and immediately shimmies down the track. He receives what he anticipated and then sends it packing over long on for a maximum.
18.26 IST: Suranga Lakmal to Colin Munro, FOUR! No protection in the deep on the off side and it's a poor line to bowl. Short and wide outside off, Munro accepts the gift gleefully and slaps it over cover-point.
18.23 IST: Suranga Lakmal to Colin Munro, Wide! Slips a good length ball down the leg side, Munro tries to flick but misses. It swings after going past the batsman and the keeper does really well to collect it with a dive to his right.
18.20 IST: Lasith Malinga to Martin Guptill, FOUR! Pulls and pulls it well this time. Malinga bangs in another short ball to Guptill, who eases himself on top of the bounce and pulls it behind square leg. No chance for the fielder in the deep this time.
18.17 IST: Lasith Malinga to Colin Munro, Sharp delivery. Slinga spears it full and around middle and leg, Munro tries flicking but it goes off the inside half to fine leg. A single taken.
18.02 IST: Lasith Malinga to Martin Guptill, FOUR! CRUNCHED! Short and on middle, Guptill rocks back and smashes the ball through backward square leg. Ends the first with a boundary. A good one for the Kiwis.
And New Zealand's batsmen are here. Martin Guptill and Colin Munro will open the innings for the Kiwis.
17.34 IST: The game started off brilliantly for the Kiwis as Matt Henry got rid of Thirimanne on the second ball itself. Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne did get the innings back on track but the wicket of the former started the procession. Sri Lanka at one time were reeling at 60 for 6 and even 100 looked a doubt. However, a 50-plus run partnership between Perera and Karunaratne, who really played well for a half ton and was the only batsman who showed character, took the Lankans to 136!
17.32 IST: Another top class bowling performance! Two in two days! It was more about pace and bounce yesterday. Today, it was about swing, line and length. The Kiwi bowlers have justified their skipper's decision to bowl first and they will easily be the happier side heading into the break.
17.30 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Lasith Malinga, OUT! That's it! Fast ball on a length. Malinga moves away and looks to hit it but misses it completely and the ball hits the middle stump. SRI LANKA BOWLED OUT FOR 136.
17.28 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Dimuth Karunaratne, NOT OUT! The TV umpire is not convinced. Bouncer from Ferguson. It is on the body, Dimuth looks to pull but gets a top edge which goes flying towards deep mid-wicket. For a moment it looks like it will fall short but Santner dives in front and takes the catch. The two umpires get together and have a chat. They take it upstairs and the soft signal is out. Replays roll in and shows that the ball might have touched the ground. The TV umpire is sure it is touching the ground and the giant screen shows NOT OUT.
17.21 IST: Trent Boult to Dimuth Karunaratne, FIFTY! Fifty for Dimuth Karunaratne, his 3rd in ODIs! Only batsman who has showed the stomach for fight. A length ball on middle, Karunaratne tries to heave it over the leg side but inside edges it through square leg. A couple taken.
*Lasith Malinga is the last man in
17.18 IST: Trent Boult to Suranga Lakmal, OUT! Bounced out! Boult digs in well-timed short delivery and it's too good for a lower order batsman. Suranga tries getting inside the bounce and then pull but only manages a top edge. It loops in the air and Santner takes the simplest of catches at covers.
17.13 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Dimuth Karunaratne, FOUR! Brilliant execution. A very low full toss on off, Karunaratne shuffles across and paddles it towards the fine leg fence for a boundary.
17.10 IST: Trent Boult to Suranga Lakmal, FOUR! What a shot! Slower one gone wrong. Back of a length ball outside off, Lakmal clears his front foot and smashes it over covers for a boundary.
*Suranga Lakmal is the next man in.
16.59 IST: Jimmy Neesham to Isuru Udana, OUT! Number 8 goes down and the Lankan procession continues... Neesham slants in a length ball on middle, Udana gets forward and across to play the flick shot but fails to get it properly on his bat. Ends up mistiming it towards mid on and Henry moves across to his right to complete an easy catch. No show from Isuru either.
*Isuru Udana is the next man in
16.53 IST: Mitchell Santner to Thisara Perera, OUT! The budding partnership is broken. Santner shows courage and flights it on middle and off, Perera looks to heave it over long on. He does not time it well and it just lobs up to the left of long on.
16.49 IST: Jimmy Neesham to Thisara Perera, FREE HIT! SIX! Goes the distance...Thisara takes maximum toll here. Pretty average thinking from Neesham. He delivers it right in the slot. A length ball around leg, Perera hangs back and muscles it over long on for a biggie.
16.49 IST: Jimmy Neesham to Thisara Perera, NO-BALL! Goodness me! Neesham loses his grip over the ball and slips a high full toss way wide outside off. A shocker, absolute shocker. Perera leaves it alone and will get a Free Hit next ball.
16.45 IST: Mitchell Santner to Thisara Perera, DROPPED! Santner bowls it slower through the air on middle. Perera clears his front leg and looks to whack is straight over the bowler's head. He does not get the desired elevation and ends up hitting it to the right of Santner. He gets his hands to hit it but cannot position himself properly. The ball deflects off his hand towards mid off and they get a run.
*Mitchell Santner introduced into the attack
16.40 IST: Trent Boult to Dimuth Karunaratne, FOUR! Wow! What a shot! Boult is guilty of bowling it full on middle and leg, Karunaratne flicks it stylishly through mid-wicket for a boundary.
*Jimmy Neesham introduced into the attack
16.24 IST: Colin de Grandhomme to Thisara Perera, SIX! That was six the moment he hit that. Back of a length ball on the body, Perera pulls it right off the meat over square leg fence for a biggie.
16.20 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Dimuth Karunaratne, FOUR! Welcome boundary for Sri Lanka. It comes off the bat of the skipper. Lockie bowls it full on middle and leg, Karunaratne plays a brilliant on drive through mid on for a boundary.
*Thisara Perera comes to the crease now.
16.17 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Jeevan Mendis, OUT! Another one bites the dust! He was lucky to escape the previous one but not this time. Once again it is a beautiful ball from Ferguson. He bowls it on middle and off, Mendis looks to flick it but gets a leading edge which flies towards gully. Neesham there brilliantly dives to his left and takes a very good catch. The fielding has been outstanding from the Kiwis. It has complimented the bowling superbly.
16.12 IST: DRINKS! New Zealand are all over Sri Lanka and the Islanders are in deep trouble here. They have lost their main batsman, Angelo Mathews just at the stroke of drinks. Sri Lanka skipper, Dimuth Karunaratne is still holding one end but he desperately needs someone to support him. Jeevan Mendis will now join him out in the middle.
16.11 IST: Colin de Grandhomme to Angelo Mathews, OUT! Another one bites the dust! Colin de Grandhomme also strikes in his first over and he probably gets the big fish. The man who Sri Lanka would have thought could have provided them some stability goes without making an impact. It is landed on a length and around off, it pitches and moves away. Not a lot Mathews could have done. He looks to defend but the away movement does him in. It kisses the outside edge and goes into the mitts of Latham.
*Colin de Grandhomme into the attack
16.07 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Angelo Mathews, Another outstanding piece of fielding by Trent Boult. Exactly what a bowler would want when he is bowling well. Ferguson goes short and Mathews may have been ready for it. He goes back and hammers the pull towards mid-wicket where Boult dives to his right and saves a couple at least. Just a single from the over. Sri Lanka finding it difficult to score any kind of runs here.
*Angelo Mathews comes on to bat.
15.56 IST: Lockie Ferguson to Dhananjaya de Silva, OUT! There goes another one! Lockie Ferguson strikes in his very first over. He sets him up excellently. Bowled the previous two balls short and spears this one on a fuller length. Not exactly fuller but a lot fuller than the last two. It comes back in too. Dhanajaya is rooted to his crease as he tries to keep it out but misses. It hits the pads and lobs to the keeper. An appeal follows and the umpire raises his finger. The batter walks up to his skipper and has a chat but then does not review. Lanka slip further.
15.42 IST: Matt Henry to Dhananjaya de Silva, FOUR! Off the mark in style! The Hat-trick ball has been hit to the fence. Henry goes very full and lands it on off, de Silva times it past the diving bowler and bags a boundary.
*Dhananjaya de Silva comes next to bat. Matt Henry is on a Hat-trick
15.41 IST: Matt Henry to Kusal Mendis, OUT! EDGED AND TAKEN! Two in two for Henry and Mendis bags a golden duck. However, not a lot you can do with this nut that too first up. It lands on off which means the batsman has to play at it. Mendis looks to defend it by staying rooted to his crease but the ball nips away. Kisses the outside edge and it goes between second slip and first slip. Guptill dives to his left and takes a very good catch. All of a sudden Sri Lanka are in trouble and Henry is on a Hat-Trick.
*Kusal Mendis comes in to bat.
15.38 IST: Matt Henry to Kusal Perera, OUT! In the air... taken! Perera throws away the start he got too. Big, big wicket as he was looking really good out there. Full and on middle, it is the slower one. Perera looks to go downtown but is a touch early in the shot. It goes off the bottom and straight up in the air between mid off and mid on. De Grandhomme moves to his right and takes it with ease.
15.33 IST: Trent Boult to Kusal Perera, two runs. Perera seemed to have settled well in here. He's taking on both the bowlers, and attacks Boult again as he cuts the delivery towards mid-wicket.
Meanwhile, in Bristol!
15.24 IST: Trent Boult to Kusal Perera, FOUR! Back to back boundaries for Perera. This one was on good length, but slightly wide again. Perera lofts it and clears the cover.
15.23 IST: Trent Boult to Kusal Perera, FOUR! No need to run for those. Too short, wide, and Perera smacks it.
15.19 IST: Matt Henry to Kusal Perera, FOUR! Is it Sanath Jayasuriya?!? Lovely bottom-hand shovel there from Perera, as he hits it straight over Karunaratne's head.
15.16 IST: Trent Boult to Dimuth Karunaratne, FOUR! Slightly full, but Karunaratne mistimes it. Doesn't matter for the skipper, though, as it takes a thick edge and races towards the third-man boundary.
15.16 IST: Trent Boult to Dimuth Karunaratne, That's an absolute gaffer! Boult seaming it beautifully away from the left-hander. Karunaratne is now beaten twice off the bowler.
15.11 IST: Matt Henry to Kusal Perera, FOUR! Full, and wide outside off. Perera finally opens his arms! The batsman lofts it hard and eases off some pressure.
What a start, indeed!
15.03 IST: Matt Henry to Lahiru Thirimanne, OUT! It is pitching in line and hitting the leg pole! Excellent comeback from Henry and he draws first blood. He goes fuller this time and lands it around leg, it shapes back in a touch. Thirimanne looks to flick but misses.
15.01 IST: Matt Henry to Lahiru Thirimanne, FOUR! The Lankan innings starts off with a boundary! Poor ball by Henry. On the pads, Thirimanne says thank you very much, he works it fine on the leg side and it races away to the fence. Could not have asked for a better delivery to get first up.
15.00 IST: The Kiwis are in a huddle. The umpires make their way out to the middle. The Lankan openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne, follow. Matt Henry has the first new ball in hand. Here we go..
14.40 IST: Playing XIs:
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (C), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera (WK), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Jeevan Mendis, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Lasith Malinga
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (C), Tom Latham (WK), Ross Taylor, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Trent Boult
14.31 IST: Kane Williamson has won the toss and New Zealand will bowl first
Brief preview: Rarely over-confident — and never champion — New Zealand goes into its Cricket World Cup opener against Sri Lanka on Saturday knowing it comfortably outranks its opponent across the scoreboards. As a team, the fourth-ranked and united Black Caps look down on ninth-ranked and often-divided Sri Lanka. New Zealand also possesses players in the top-five batting, bowling, and allrounder rankings in Ross Taylor, Trent Boult, and Mitchell Santner, respectively, while Sri Lanka has none. [Read full preview here]
