New Zealand vs Sri Lanka ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Highlights: Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson’s knocks and Sri Lankan collapse
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 Highlights
New Zealand, hot favourites for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, flagged off their campaign with a professional display in the inaugural game against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. Sandipan Banerjee looks back at the major highlights of the game.
1. Brisk start by Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill: New Zealand were put in by Angelo Mathews in cloudy Christchurch. The opening pair was probably expected to be circumspect initially against the experience of Nuwan Kulasekara and Lasith Malinga, but McCullum and Guptill had other ideas. McCullum started his innings with boundary over cover off Kulasekara in the very first ball of his innings. He gave his team a brisk start and that put Sri Lanka on the backfoot. Guptill also played his role. The Lankans never really recovered from there. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: SCHEDULE & MATCH DETAILS
2. Brilliant spell by the old fox Rangana Herath: New Zealand were propelling at 111 for no loss in the 16th over when wily Herath broke partnership with the crucial wicket of the McCullum. He was struggling against the left-arm spinner. Herath bowled well all through and undoubtedly was Sri Lanka’s best bowler in the day (9-0-37-1). Surprisingly he did not bowl his full quota. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: POINTS TABLE
3. Kane Williamson’s innings and finishing touch by Corey Anderson: After Guptill and Ross Taylor got out, Williamson took care of the middle overs. He scored his 13th half-century in last 17 innings and took New Zealand towards solidity. But the real knock-out punch came from Anderson. It was because of his 45-ball 75 that New Zealand managed to score 331, their highest score in World Cup. ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: Complete Coverage
4. Lahiru Thirimanne’s fighting knock: Sri Lanka started their chase cautiously. The openers took time to settle down. Though Tillakaratne Dilshan failed to convert his start, Thirimanne did not disappoint. He scored a dazzling 60-ball 65. His knock is one of the few positives for Sri Lanka from this game.
5. Kumar Sangakkkara’s milestone: Though Sangakkara scored only 39 and failed to take his team through but during the course of his innings the veteran Sri Lankan reached two milestones. The southpaw went past Ricky Ponting and became the second highest run-scorer in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) after Sachin Tendulkar. He also scored 1,000 runs in World Cup games.
6. The Sri Lankan collapse: During their chase, in the 23rd over Sri Lanka were 124 for one. But from that point they lost three wickets in three overs and suddenly Sri Lanka were 129 for four in the 24th over. They were eventually bowled out for 233.
(Sandipan Banerjee is a reporter at CricketCountry. Cricket has been the biggest passion for him since his childhood. So, when it came to choosing his career, he chose to turn his passion into his profession. Apart from cricket he likes mountain trekking, river rafting, and photography. His twitter handle is @im_sandipan)