Published: Jan 29, 2015, 02:29 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 29, 2015, 02:42 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka have beaten New Zealand by 34 runs with 29 balls to spare in the seventh and final One-Day International (ODI) at Wellington. New Zealand however clinch the series 4-2. Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first. Lahiru Thirimanne was leading the side today in the absence of regular skipper Angelo Mathews.
The innings started well for Sri Lanka as they Tilllakaratne Dilshan, Thirimanne and Kumar Sangakkara gave the visitors off to a great start. Sangakkara got to his 21st century and Dilshan made 81, which propelled Sri Lanka to 287 for six in their quota of 50 overs. Sangakkara in the process also became the highest run-getter in ODIs for Sri Lanka, surpassing Sanath Jayasuriya. Sri Lanka will be disappointed that they didn’t reach 300, considering the kind of start they got.
New Zealand on the other hand had a contrasting start. They lost Martin Guptill off the very first ball of their innings and he was soon followed by his partner Tom Latham back to the pavilion. Ross Taylor too could not score many runs as he was looking extremely comfortable in his short innings. Skipper Kane Williamson and Grant Elliot then steadied the innings with 59 runs for the fourth wicket, which brought New Zealand back into the game for some time.
Williamson reached made a gutsy half-century and he was going to be key if New Zealand were to win the game. After he was dismissed wickets started falling at regular intervals until Luke Ronchi and Daniel Vettori put on 74 runs for the seventh wicket, which gave New Zealand an outside chance to win the match. After Ronchi fell for 47 and Vettori fell for 35, it became impossible for New Zealand to win despite some hard hitting from Kyle Mills right at the death.
New Zealand play a two-match ODI series against Pakistan, starting from February 2. Sri Lanka will be their next game in the ICC World Cup 2015 against New Zealand at Christchurch on February 14.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 287 for 8 in 50 Overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 81Kumar Sangakkara 113*; Corey Anderson 3 for 59) beat New Zealand (Kane Williamson 54, Luke Ronchi 47; Shaminda Eranga 2 for 34) by 34 runs
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