Chasing 162, New Zealand were in a spot of bother at 38/3 inside the Powerplay. Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert, promoted to open the innings since Martin Guptill injured his right abdominal muscles, added just 15 after falling prey to Akila Dananjaya.
De Grandhomme and Bruce then stitched a 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket that brought the tourists back into the game. The duo couldn’t finish things off as Isuru Udana broke the partnership sending De Grandhomme, who tonked three sixes and couple of boundaries in his 46-ball 59 in the penultimate over.
The final over started with two successive wickets – Tom Bruce (53 off 46) and Daryl Mitchell (1) – falling to Wanidu Hasaranga. New Zealand needed 7 from 4, but Mitchell Santner managed to find the fence thanks to a collision between Kusal Mendis and Shehan Jayasuriya, who injured himself in the process.
The boundary, which was corrected to a six after the fielder caught the catch with his feet on the tope, sealed the match. Santner finished off in style with a boundary to trigger celebrations in the Kiwi camp.
Kiwi skipper Tim Southee returned impressive figures of 2/18 and fellow paceman Scott Kuggeleijn also took two wickets.
Avishka Fernando and Niroshan Dickwella put on 68 runs for a crucial third-wicket stand but the rest of the batting did not make an impression.
Mendis let go off a brisk start to be out for 26 off Rance and his opening partner Kusal Perera followed him to the pavilion after being bowled by Ish Sodhi. The right-left batting pair of Fernando, who made 37, and Dickwella, who hit 39, then got going to take the attack to the opposition bowlers.
Southee broke the stand with the wicket of Fernando, and Rance trapped the left-handed Dickwella lbw. Shehan Jayasuriya remained the only other notable scorer with his 20 off 13 deliveries.
Brief scores: New Zealand 165/6 (Colin de Grandhomme 59, Tom Bruce 53; Akila Dananjaya 3/36) beat Sri Lanka 161/9 in 20 overs (Niroshan Dickwella 39, Avishka Fernando 37; Seth Rance 3/33, Tim Southee 2/18) by 4 wickets to seal series 2-0Â
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