Another T20I series lost in New Zealand

Mark Chapman keeps New Zealand’s innings moving with 42 off 29 balls

Kusal Perera keeps Sri Lanka’s chase on track with 48 off 35 balls

• Sri Lankan batting collapses to Duffy again
• Lose 7 wickets for 14 runs off last 25 balls

A career best performance of 4/15 from seamer Jacob Duffy saw Sri Lanka succumb timidly to a 45-run defeat to New Zealand at Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui yesterday to give the hosts a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

For Sri Lanka who have never won a T20I series in New Zealand it was another opportunity lost as they surrendered their wickets tamely to be dismissed for 141 in 19.1 overs chasing a target of 187.

In the first T20I, Sri Lanka lost 8 wickets for 38 runs and yesterday they made it 7 wickets for 14 runs. New Zealand pulled off a come-from-behind win a couple of days ago, but yesterday they were dominant. For Sri Lanka both games, the story was similar, just two batters contributing decently.

Today they had a bit more support from Kusal Perera (48 off 35 balls, 4 fours, 2 sixes) and Charith Asalanka (20 off 16 balls) after Pathum Nissanka (37 off 28 balls), but Jacob Duffy once again ripped open the Lankan batting in the middle overs. Unlike the last game, New Zealand didn’t let Sri Lanka have a great power play with the bat. They had Mitchell Santner using a used pitch to great effect, while Duffy bombarded Sri Lanka with his variations to finish with career best figures of 4/15. Matt Henry, Michael Bracewell and Zakary Foulkes also chipped in.

For New Zealand, invited to bat again by Sri Lanka, Tim Robinson (41 off 34 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) and Mark Chapman (42 off 29 balls, 2 fours, 2 sixes) stitched up a nice partnership of 69 at the top of the order and got going once the ball got just a little older. Wanindu Hasaranga kept Sri Lanka in the game with timely blows but New Zealand got handy contributions right through. They set a great platform and Mitchell Hay used it to cut loose later in the innings. He found the boundaries through a combination of some clever batting and some poor bowling and remained unbeaten on 41 off 19 (4 fours, 2 sixes) to win the Player of the Match award. New Zealand finished strongly with 62 coming off the last 5 overs that saw them past the 180-run mark.

Sri Lanka captain Asalanka said that he was really disappointed with the results. “The way the middle-order batted, me included, we really should have done better. It’s all about adapting quickly to conditions. It is a little bouncier than our conditions and at the same time they were brilliant. It’s really important to finish the game, it doesn’t matter how you start. We were close in the first game but again disappointed.”

The third and final T20I will be played at Nelson on 2 January.

SCOREBOARD

NEW ZEALAND

T Robinson b Hasaranga 41

R Ravindra c Pathirana b Thushara 1

M Chapman st Kusal Mendis b Hasaranga    42

G Phillips c Nissanka b Pathirana  23

D Mitchell run out 18

M Hay not out    41 

M Bracewell not out 5

Extras (lb-7, w-8) 15

Total (5 wickets, 20 overs) 186

Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Ravindra), 2-82 (Robinson), 3-116 (Chapman), 4-122 (Phillips), 5-145 (Mitchell). 

Did not bat: M Santner, Z Foulkes, M Henry, J Duffy

Bowling: Thushara 4-0-25-1 (2w), B Fernando 4-0-37-0 (1w), Theekshana 4-0-52-0 (2w), Pathirana 4-0-37-1 (3w), Hasaranga 4-0-28-2.

SRI LANKA

P Nissanka c Henry b Duffy    37

Kusal Mendis c Mitchell b Santner  10

K Perera b Duffy 48

Kamindu Mendis c Chapman b Bracewell    7

C Asalanka c Chapman b Santner  20

A Fernando c Robinson b Henry    5

W Hasaranga b Duffy 1

M Theekshana c Santner b Duffy    0

B Fernando c Duffy b Foulkes  3

M Pathirana c Hay b Henry    0

N Thushara not out    0

Extras (lb-2, nb-2, w-6)    10

Total (all out, 19.1 overs)  141

Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Kusal Mendis), 2-71 (Nissanka), 3-97 (Kamindu Mendis), 4-127 (Perera), 5-135 (Asalanka), 6-136 (Hasaranga), 7-136 (Theekshana), 8-141 (A Fernando), 9-141 (Pathirana), 10-141 (B Fernando).  

Bowling: Henry 4-0-31-2, Duffy 4-0-15-4 (3w), Foulkes 3.1-0-27-1 (2nb, 2w), Santner 4-0-22-2 (1w), Bracewell 3-0-30-1, Phillips 1-0-14-0.