Colin Munro smashes 2nd fastest T20I half-century during New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I at Auckland

New Zealand thrashed Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in the 2nd T20I at Auckland.

Colin Munro hit the second fastest half-century in Twenty20 International (T20I) during the second T20I of the two-match series against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Munro’s 50 off just 14 balls came just 20 minutes after Martin Guptill hit New Zealand’s fastest fifty when the latter reached the milestone in 19 balls. Now Munro holds the record for New Zealand’s fastest half-century and the duo helped the hosts beat Sri Lanka in the second match and thereby white-washing them 2-0 in the T20I series. Sri Lanka’s embarrassing tour came to an end with losing both One-Day International (ODI) and T20I series. SCORECARD: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd T20I at Auckland

With this match, Guptill has crossed 1500 runs in T20I cricket. While Guptill, who is the third highest run scorer in T20Is, has 1535 runs from 54 matches, Dilshan holds the second spot with 1618 runs behind Brendon McCullum’s 2140 runs.

Sri Lanka posted 142 batting first which the Black Caps chased down in just 10 overs with 9 wickets to spare. Munro was unbeaten on 50 from 14 balls, having hit seven sixes and a four. On the other hand, Guptill was dismissed for a quick 25-ball 63. Earlier, Grant Elliott was the most accurate bowler, and took 4 for 22 from his four overs, which left Sri Lanka struggling. The other wickets were shared between Mitchell Santner and Adam Milne.

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews was the only batsman who showed some fight against the strong Black Caps bowling attack. He remained unbeaten on 81 from 49 balls which was inclusive of seven fours and four sixes. READ: Guptill, Munro fifties help New Zealand hammer Sri Lanka by 9 wickets in 2nd T20I

According to AFP, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said it was “pretty special” to see Guptill and Munro flay the bowling. “I thought it would be a bit of a scrap on that wicket as it was holding up a fraction, but it didn’t seem to be a problem for those two guys and they cleared the ropes consistently. It was exciting to see,” he said.

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