New Zealand (Commonwealth) _ In a rain-shortened second one-day international in Hamilton on Wednesday, New Zealand won by 113 runs, securing the three-match series with one game remaining. Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana bowled a hat-trick in vain.
A weather delay at Seddon Park shortened the encounter to 37 overs on each side, but Mark Chapman (62) and Rachin Ravindra (79) hammered attacking half-centuries to propel the hosts to a dominant 255-9.
After falling to 22-4 in six overs, Sri Lanka was eventually bowled out for 142 in 30.2 overs, giving New Zealand an insurmountable 2-0 series lead. Mitchell Santner, the captain of New Zealand, stated, “We started off with a good start with the bat.”
We knew we needed to bowl well right away, and I believe it was still extremely competitive. Will Young was out for 16 as New Zealand batted, but player-of-the-match Ravindra and Chapman put together a second-wicket stand of 112 to set the stage for a massive total.
With Theekshana (4–44) spearheading Sri Lanka’s comeback, New Zealand managed just 63 runs from the last 10 overs despite Daryl Mitchell’s run-a-ball of 38. With the final two deliveries of his seventh over, the off-spinner got rid of Nathan Smith and Santner.
In order to become the seventh bowler from Sri Lanka to claim an ODI hat-trick, he then came back to dismiss Matt Henry with the opening delivery of his eighth. Following two wickets from Jacob Duffy and the dismissal of touring skipper Charith Asalanka in the fifth over, Sri Lanka faltered early in their chase.
Before succumbing to Will O’Rourke, who took 3-31 to lead the upset of the visitors, Kamindu Mendis hit a quick 64. It was a fair pitch, although the field is small. Asalanka stated, “I believe that poor batting during the powerplay cost us the game.”
On Saturday, New Zealand will play the third ODI in Auckland with the goal of sweeping the series. Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman’s 112-run second-wicket partnership was the cornerstone of New Zealand’s sweeping victory of 255 for 9 in their 37 overs. Then Sri Lanka’s greatest order fell and burned again.
They were 4 for 22 in the first five overs, thus ending their hopes of tying the series.
Kamindu Mendis did his hardest, but his 64 was not enough to save this innings. In the first ODI, Sri Lanka lost badly to New Zealand, losing by 113 runs. Despite facing significant handicaps from withdrawals and injuries, New Zealand managed to win the series. Sri Lanka is essentially at full strength, even in a game with less rain, but the loss of their top five still worries them.
There were also several stutters in New Zealand. They were modest in the end because New Zealand managed a strong finish; they lost five wickets in the final ten overs, managing no more than 63. However, they didn’t make a huge mistake that would have undone the Ravindra-Chapman stand’s effort. They contributed through the middle, with Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, and Daryl Mitchell all contributing.
Then, their confident seam bowlers emerged, making a significant impact even with the slower ball. Matt Henry and Nathan Smith each took a wicket, Will O’Rourke took three for thirty-one, and Jacob Duffy took two for thirty.
Kamindu and Janith Liyanage put on 57 runs together for the fifth wicket, the sole indication of a partnership. Apart from that, New Zealand was gradually moving up the batting order till they had them all out in 31 overs.
Sri Lanka’s required rate was 6.92 from the beginning. Although this may seem like a daunting job, the pitch was suitable for batting, and rain interrupted play by two and a half hours, making it difficult for some bowlers to control a damp ball.
Sri Lanka played excellent fielding and made more mistakes in the second half of the innings. Theekshana’s hat trick included some tumbling catches in the deep from Kamindu and Chamindu Wickramasinghe, while Asalanka got rid of Ravindra with a superb diving grab at short cover.
However, New Zealand surpassed them even in the field. The day’s best catch came from Nathan Smith, who rushed along the deep-third boundary, pushed himself off balance, and got his outstretched right arm to a ball that may have otherwise landed over the boundary to remove Malinga. Their ground fielding was outstanding once more.
