4 months ago
92
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, SIX! WHAT A SHOT! A genuine loosener from Henry, on a shortish bit of a length, on the stumps, Pathum Nissanka gets the bounce at a comfortable height and pulls it behind deep backward square leg for a huge six. That was timed to perfection from Nissanka!
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, FOUR! Cracked away! Short and on middle, Pathum Nissanka pulls it off the back foot to the vacant deep square leg region for a boundary.
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, IN THE AIR...DROPS SAFE! On the fuller length from Henry, on middle, Pathum Nissanka clears the front leg and lofts it in the air. Tries to go downtown but mistimes it aerially. It sails and lands to wide of long off with the two fielders chasing it. Two taken.
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, Fuller and angling on middle, Pathum Nissanka gets across and flicks it to mid-wicket.
Score after
2
overs
12 - 0
- Kusal Mendis 10 (5)
- Pathum Nissanka 2 (7)
Jacob Duffy to Kusal Mendis, SIX! Pulled away! Short boundaries and Mendis makes the most of it! Short and on the middle and leg, Kusal Mendis reads the length early, gets in position quickly and pulls it aerially behind deep square leg for the first six of the match.
Jacob Duffy to Pathum Nissanka, Had to hurry there! Full and at the stumps now, with a tinge of an away movement. Nissanka gets forward and pushes it between mid on and mid off for a quick single.
Jacob Duffy to Pathum Nissanka, BEAUTY! A conventional outswinger from Duffy now, on a fuller length, well outside off, Pathum Nissanka is lured with the width offered and goes for a cover drive but the ball zips past the outside edge.
Jacob Duffy to Pathum Nissanka, Nagging length, aiming and slanting onto the pads, Pathum Nissanka gets a bit across and tucks it to short fine.
Jacob Duffy to Kusal Mendis, Drop and run! Hard length, nipping away sharply from off, Kusal Mendis waits for it to arrive and knocks it between cover-point for a single.
Jacob Duffy to Kusal Mendis, Starts it from over the stumps and bowls it on back of a length, outside off. It lands and keeps nibbling away from the angle. Kusal Mendis goes for a square cut but misses.
Jacob Duffy to operate from the far end.
- Pathum Nissanka 1 (4)
- Kusal Mendis 3 (2)
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, Length-delivery, around off, Nissanka leans back to punch it through covers but mistimes it on the bounce to the cover fielder. A decent start for both sides.
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, Short of a good length, on middle, Pathum Nissanka goes for a pull shot but gets it off the bottom end and the ball drops onto the pitch.
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, Back of a length around off. Pathum Nissanka punches off the back foot to cover.
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Matt Henry to Kusal Mendis, BUZZERS! Back of a length, jagging a touch back in the pads, Kusal Mendis gets a thick inside edge onto the pads as he looks to work and glance it across to the leg side. The ball thuds on his thigh pad and rolls to the square leg region. Both rush for a single quickly. A direct hit at the non-striker's end and the ball ricochets to the off side which allows them to get two more.
Matt Henry to Kusal Mendis, Good areas there from Henry! Outside off, nibbling away on a good length, Kusal Mendis feels for it initially but opts out of the shot as the ball deviates away from him.
Matt Henry to Pathum Nissanka, Henry starts from over the wickets and lands it right on the money. Gets some away shape from a good length, just outside off. Pathum Nissanka hops on the back foot and guides the ball to deep third for single. Nissanka and Sri Lanka are underway!
Well then, all in preparedness for the commencement of the third and final T20I. A sell-out crowd at the Saxton Oval, Nelson as well. Also, pleasing scenes as the sun is peeking out of the clouds. There's a fair share of thick cloud cover at one end, but, for the bare minimum, it is least threatening for the match to start now. The two umpires walk out to the middle, and the New Zealand players also scatter out to the field. Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka are the two Sri Lankan openers who walk out to the crease. It will be Matt Henry to kick off the proceedings with the new ball. All players and the crowd are requested to observe a minute of silence as a tribute to the passing away of Senior Sergeant, Lyn Fleming with the personnel from the Nelson police force also present at the boundary side. Well then, all in readiness. Off we go...
Ronchi: "We hopefully can get the players ready. The young guys have performed superbly. The guys have played well. The energy has been good. You want them to come into this environment and do well. Duffy is a hard worker. He gets the rewards. Santner is a smart man and smart cricketer. That's why he has the captain's hat. If you lose a few overs, we will look to do a few things differently. We have gotten together as a group. Everyone wants to win. We are process driven and would be nice to finish it off with a 3-0 series win."
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka(c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Hay(w), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy
Asalanka: "The wicket looks same as the previous two games. Want to do basics right. We couldn't manage to finish the games. Middle-order has to capitalize and score big runs. It is harder we do understand. We have two changes."
Santner: "We will have a bowl. Has been under the covers. Just hoping the new guys would perform given we will be playing a lot of whote ball cricket in coming years. The groundsmen have done well. We have the same team."
New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to field
PITCH REPORT - Katie Martin and Craig McMillan are inspecting the pitch at the Saxton Oval. Katie hopes that the rain will stay away and they will have all 40 overs bowled. Also mentions that there were a few concerns in the outfield and those have been cleared now. Informs that the boundary dimensions are slightly smaller than Mount Maunganui and says that it is 64 meters and 63 meters on either side. McMillan joins her and says that there's good grass coverage and it will aid pace and bounce.
New Zealand (Unchanged Playing XI) - Tim Robinson, Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Hay (WK), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (C), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI) - Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (WK), Kusal Perera, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka (C), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (In for Kamindu Mendis), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamindu Wickramasinghe (In for Matheesha Pathirana), Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara.
Charith Asalanka, the skipper of Sri Lanka says that the wicket looks the same as the previous two games. Mentions that they need to get their basics correct. Also believes that they weren't able to finish games and the middle order needs to capitalize and score runs quickly. Informs that they have two changes in the side, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Chamindu Wickramasinghe come in the side. Also mentions that Matheesha Pathirana and Kamindu Mendis are out.
Mitchell Santner, the skipper of New Zealand says that due to overcast conditions, it is better to bowl first. Also says that the pitch has been under the covers for a bit and they want to see if they can make use of it. Adds that it is all about making guys comfortable in their roles. Appreciates the ground staff by saying they have done an excellent job. Informs that they are going unchanged and want to give young guys more opportunities.
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