Thursday Dec 26, 2024
Thursday Dec 26, 2024
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Will Young completed his ninth ODI fifty before the rains set in
Henry Nicholls and Will Young put together an unbroken stand of 88
Sri Lanka players leave the field as the ground staff gets ready with the covers
Sa’adi Thawfeeq reporting from Pallekele
Incessant rain had the final say in the third and final ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium yesterday, allowing only 21 overs to be bowled, during which period New Zealand had the best of starts in the series, scoring 112-1.
Will Young and Henry Nicholls capitalised on the good batting conditions on offer and laid down a solid foundation for the middle order by putting together a second wicket stand of 88 off 106 balls. But the rain, which came down at 4 p.m., dashed all hopes New Zealand had of returning home with a win under their belt.
Prior to that, Young had completed his ninth ODI fifty and was unbeaten on 56 scored off 68 balls (8 fours), and Nicholls had joined him, scoring an accomplished 46* off 51 balls (4 fours).
Mohamed Shiraz, one of five changes Sri Lanka made for the match, took the solitary wicket to fall, sending back the out-of-form Tim Robinson for 9 when Charith Asalanka pulled off a superb one-handed catch over his head at mid-off. It was Shiraz’s maiden ODI wicket. The others did not get a chance to show their hand and test Sri Lanka’s bench strength.
With the win over New Zealand, Sri Lanka completed an outstanding year with five ODI series wins.
“It’s not easy to win five consecutive series, although it is at home,” said Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka at the presentation ceremony. “I am really pleased with our performance. The coach and I want to give the chance to players to perform. Individual players got a good run and that is the way forward; especially Kusal Mendis, he batted really well. The bowlers also bowled well and our fielding was really good.”
“It’s a shame we couldn’t finish the game today, after such a good start,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner. “Will Young started well and [Henry] Nicholls did well to build a partnership with him. The wicket was better than the previous game. I thoroughly enjoyed the captaincy. It was a good learning curve for the youngsters. We always enjoy coming to Sri Lanka.”
Kusal Mendis, with 217 runs (avg. 217.00) from two matches, was named Player of the Series. His award was collected by Avishka Fernando.
