Vettori - Fielding was decisive

New Zealand earn narrow win in T20 opener

Last updated: 2nd September 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Vettori - Fielding was decisive

Vettori: tactical mastermind

The bowling at the death is the best it has been for a long time and to put them under pressure after the start Dilshan gave them is really satisfying.

Daniel Vettori
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Captain Daniel Vettori praised New Zealand's effort in the field as they defended a total of 141-8 for a three-run success over Sri Lanka in the first T20 international.

The Black Caps' score, underpinned by 60 from Ross Taylor, looked inadequate when Tillakaratne Dilshan hammered 57 off just 28 balls at the start of the Sri Lanka's run chase.

But a middle-order collapse left the game back in the balance and Jacob Oram took a hat-trick as Sri Lanka finished just shy on 138-9.

"I think we were about 15 runs short, but the history of this track suggests that it gets harder to bat on as the game progresses," said Vettori, who took 2-11 from his four-over allocation.

"We knew we were in with a chance and the fightback after we got Dilshan was impressive.

"The ball stopped a little and we managed to just strangle them and pile on the pressure.

"The bowling at the death is the best it has been for a long time and to put them under pressure after the start Dilshan gave them is really satisfying.

Amazing

"I think the fielding really stands out in Twenty20 and you just have to take the chances that come your way.

"I think (Jesse) Ryder's run out of (Mahela) Jayawardene at the start of innings was an amazing piece of work and all the guys did a fair bit of work in the field."

Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara felt the team had let down Dilshan and the bowlers who had done well to restrict New Zealand to a modest score.

"I think Dilshan has matured a lot in the last two years and he had understood how good he really is and now he is maximising his opportunities," said Sangakkara.

"We just couldn't support him or the bowlers, who did a very good job of keeping them to 141.

"We've got to get back to the drawing board, find out where we went wrong and then improve quickly so that we win the next game."

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