Queenstown [New Zealand], April 8 : New Zealand stood victorious after a hard-fought gruelling series against the Sri Lankans at Queenstown Events Centre on Friday.
Sri Lanka managed to put the Kiwis under pressure as Kusal Mendis decided to deal with boundaries. But the hosts managed to get back into the match after picking up wickets consistently as the first innings approached the climax.
"They put us under a bit of pressure bowling first, and it was good to see the guys respond to that and keep them to a total that was a little below par. Seifert got the required rate down to seven in the last six or seven overs, which was really important. It was a little tight, but we got the result. When you're chasing you know the equation, and on a really good wicket it was really hard to defend. There's some big pockets out there so the twos come into play as well," NZ skipper Tom Latham said after the match.
Benjamin Lister, Adam Milne and Mark Chapman played a crucial role in restricting Sri Lanka to 182. Matt Henry bowled the final over to keep Sri Lanka's scoring rate in check as he only conceded 3 runs in the finish off an impressive display with the ball.
"It was really good to see new guys come in and perform. It shows the depth in New Zealand. It was nice to see Chad Bowes and Ben Lister going about their jobs," Latam continued.
New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert stole the game away from Sri Lanka. The moment he walked on the pitch 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 (183/6) with one ball to spare.
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