Sri Lanka reach 288/9 against New Zealand in 1st ODI at Hambantota
Nov 10, 2013
Half-centuries by Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews guided Sri Lanka to 288 for nine in their 50 overs against New Zealand in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Hambantota on Sunday.
New Zealand skipper Kyle Mills won the toss and elected to field. The decision seemed to work immediately as Mills trapped Dimuth Karunaratne in front of the stumps in the very first ball of the match.
However, the experienced pair of Dilshan and Sangakkara ensured that the visitors don’t take the early advantage. They added a steady stand of 137 runs to put the hosts in command. Sangakkara paced his innings well before falling for 79 off 81 balls. His knock included nine boundaries and two sixes.
Mahela Jayawardene’s stay at the crease was short and edgy. He became Anton Devcich’s second victim by edging a lofted drive to Rob Nicol at mid-wicket.
Dilshan continued to anchor Sri Lanka’s innings in company of skipper Mathews. However, in a bid to play his fourth scoop in five balls he ended up giving a catch to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.
Mathews hit some lusty shots towards the latter part of the innings to up the scoring rate. Mitchell McClenaghan bore the brunt of the attack.
Mills was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors as he returned with figures of three for 49 off his nine overs.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 288 for 9 in 50 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 81, Kumar Sangakkara 79, Angelo Mathews 74*; Kyle Mills 3 for 49, Anton Devcich 2 for 33) vs New Zealand
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