Early in the evening, BJ Watling missed his century by four runs but
returned to the pavilion with a spring in his step after propelling New
Zealand to a competitive total in difficult circumstances, with rain
curtailing the game to 33 overs a side. Tillakaratne Dilshan not only
passed three figures, but also ensured Sri Lanka passed the finish line
without panic in a controlled chase.
The two innings were statistically similar - in terms of strike-rate and
number of boundaries hit - but the difference lay in the way they were
paced. Watling came alive after he passed fifty, while Dilshan built his
innings steadily and pushed on once his partnership with Angelo Mathews
had all but ensured Sri Lanka to safety.
New Zealand had scored 188, but the target was revised to 197. The chase
began positively with Dilshan finding the gaps early on, but New
Zealand hit back in the fifth over. After being caressed for two
boundaries through the off side, Tim Southee bowled a bouncer and Upul
Tharanga ducked and the ball deflected off his helmet for four. Southee
exchanged words with the batsman but Tharanga barely had time to gather
himself when he hooked the following ball - dug in short again -
awkwardly to fine leg.
The challenge for the New Zealand bowlers was the heavy dew and their
seamers did well to keep it tight and not let the likes of Kumar
Sangakkara to get away. In the urge to find the boundary, Sangakkara
chipped down the track to Kyle Mills and pulled straight to midwicket.
It wasn't Mahela Jayawardene's night either, as his reverse sweep off
Nathan McCullum found short third man, giving New Zealand an opening in
the 15th over with Sri Lanka needing 124.
The boundaries had dried up for the hosts and the drought lasted eight
overs before Mathews charged Southee and swatted him over mid-on. The
required rate crept up to seven and beyond but Dilshan and Mathews
ensured things didn't get out of hand, perhaps gaining a psychological
edge watching the bowlers furiously wipe the ball trying to get rid of
the dew. The fielders showed good commitment, sliding and diving with
purpose but the bowlers couldn't sustain the pressure, giving away
regular boundaries.
Dilshan crashed one on the up and nearly cleaned up the bowler Trent
Boult, before Mathews slapped two ordinary deliveries from Mills wide of
point in a three-over period that produced a vital 30 runs. It was a
matter of time before Dilshan produced his trademark lap shot, sending
one off Jacob Oram to fine leg. Sri Lanka took their last Powerplay
block of three overs in the end, when Dilshan muscled his way towards
his century, reaching the landmark with a six over deep square leg.
Sri Lanka were fortunate their innings wasn't constantly interrupted by
the weather. Two lengthy rain interruptions - both exceeding 100 minutes
each - couldn't have been easy for New Zealand as they looked to build
after being put in to bat. After the second break, they had 19 remaining
overs to get as many as they could, with the threat of rain at the back
of their heads.
The stand of 56 between James Franklin and Watling gave New Zealand the
push they needed. Watling had nothing to lose in attacking. His first
fifty came of 70 balls - his next 46 came off just 18. It included slogs
to midwicket off the spinners, powerful drives to the deep square on
the off side off the seamers and three boundaries in an over off Lasith
Malinga. That over - the penultimate - yielded 15, as Malinga dished out
low full tosses. It was one of those nights when he couldn't land his
yorkers. Nathan McCullum gave him good support at the other end with
clean hits.
A century for Watling seemed a possibility but he lost strike after the
third ball in the final over. New Zealand had made enough to set Sri
Lanka a required rate of just under a run-a-ball, but Dilshan and
Mathews settled the issue with nearly two overs to spare and give Sri
Lanka an unassailable 2-0 lead.
0 comments:
Post a Comment