Queenstown [New Zealand], April 8 : New Zealand clinched the T20I series against Sri Lanka at Queenstown Events Centre on Friday. It was a collective effort from the entire New Zealand team to chase down the target but Tim Seifert stood tall above everyone else.
His blistering knock of 88(48) undid all the efforts of Sri Lankan batters as the Kiwis chased down the target of 183 with a ball to spare. Even though Seifert had an outing to forget in the first match of the series, he made a strong comeback in the second T20I match with an unbeaten knock of 79* in Dunedin. His two consecutive performances earned him the title of the man of the series.
"I didn't get off to the best start in the series, but that happens. In Dunedin Chad took a lot of pressure off me getting a fast start. My cricket's been going well, but importantly we are getting the wins. If I'm not keeping I do back myself to be in the team just as a batter," Tim Seifert said after the match.
When Tim Seifert walked on the pitch Tim Seifert, he didn't waste much time switching to his usual destructive self and even after Chad Bowes' wicket fell, he continued plundering runs with Tom Latham.
The hosts appeared to be on track until the 15th over, when Latham was bowled by Maheesh Theekshana, ending an 84-run second-wicket stand. New Zealand's chances were harmed further when Seifert was bowled two overs later, but with less than 30 runs needed, they would have expected to win easily.
The Lankans, on the other hand, refused to go down without a fight and bowled economically. The final over required 10 runs, and Mark Chapman hit a powerful six off Lahiru Kumara's first ball, reducing the equation to 4 from 5 balls with 7 wickets in hand, but that's when things got interesting.
Kumara then removed Chapman, Jimmy Neesham was run-out on the next ball on a wide delivery and Daryl Mitchell was caught trying to go big as the hosts lost three wickets on successive deliveries.
With 3 runs needed off 4 balls, Adam Milne sneaked in a bye, almost getting run-out in the process. Rachin Ravindra held his nerve eventually as New Zealand won the match with one ball to spare.
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