Cricket Match
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand
Last Updated: March 31, 2014 5:37pm
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Sri Lanka won by 59 runs
This match turned most decisively on Rangana Herath's portly, 36 year old frame. Two run-outs also came during his spell, so while Herath was trundling away New Zealand effectively lost seven wickets for three runs. His figures read 3.3-2-3-5. Simply marvelous. The victory means Sri Lanka will play whoever wins in the Pakistan v West Indies match, while South Africa take on India in the other semi-final. After the England v Netherlands game, this has been a truly memorable day for cricket. We hope you've enjoyed our commentary, and do join us again!
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Over 15.3 - NZ 60 all out
WICKETS! Sri Lanka win! Fittingly, it's Herath who sees them home. Williamson's scatterbrained run out embodies New Zealand's efforts in this match. Boult chipped the ball into the outfield, but neither batsman could decide whether a second run was on. Thanks to their hesitation, it was not, and after Williamson fell Boult edged Herath to slip to give the left-arm spinner his fifth wicket and end the match. Anderson is not fit to bat, so Sri Lanka go through!
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Over 15 - NZ 59/7 (Williamson 42, Boult 2)
Lasith Malinga returns to the attack, and now he is bowling yorkers. But his effort to Williamson goes a little awry and the batsman is able to glance the ball to the fine leg boundary. A single puts Boult on strike, and he manages to get his bat down in time to keep a dipping yorker away from the stumps.
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Over 14 - NZ 51/7 (Williamson 36, Boult 0)
WICKET! Senanayake strikes again! Mills departs playing a slightly brainless reverse sweep, but he's actually unlucky to be given out. Replays show that the ball would probably have spun down the leg side, but an extended, emotive lbw appeal convinced Aleem Dar to give the batsman out. There are two slips in place for Trent Boult, but he's able to survive the over. I wonder how Corey Anderson is doing? Has he made it back from the hospital yet? He may well be called upon to bat if he has, injured finger and all ...
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Over 13 - NZ 50/6 (Williamson 35, Mills 4)
Sri Lanka's defense is punctured by two boundaries - one each for the batsmen. Williamson has found Mathews' bowling to his liking, and he starts the damage by clubbing a short ball to the square leg boundary. A slightly flaky, bottom-edged single puts Mills on strike, and he aims a booming cover drive through the gap to get off the mark.
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Over 12 - NZ 39/6 (Williamson 28, Mills 0)
Senanayake continues, and Williamson sees off the first four deliveries of the offspinners over before nurdling a single to midwicket off the fifth. That puts Mills on strike, and he manages to keep the final delivery out. Sri Lanka still have a slip and a short leg in place, in the 12th over of a Twenty20 match!
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Over 11 - NZ 38/6 (Williamson 27, Mills 0)
Just a little bit of relief for New Zealand! Williamson advances at Mathews' medium pace and chips a boundary over mid-on. But New Zealand need 9 an over from here on in, so they need a lot more of that.
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Over 10 - NZ 33/6 (Williamson 22, Mills 0)
WICKET! it's not Herath, but spin has accounted for yet another New Zealand batsman. McCullum's tactic had been to shuffle across his stumps and look to work the ball to leg, and he's done just that to offspinner Senanayake - but he's clipped the ball straight into the hands of Mathews at midwicket. Kyle Mills reaches the middle, and does a decent enough job of keeping the final three deliveries of the over out. Williamson remains, but the situation, surely, is now hopeless?
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Over 9 - NZ 32/5 (Williamson 21, McCullum 2)
Just the one over from Malinga, who has decided to bring Angelo Mathews back into the attack. After all the excitement, there's a slight lull in this over. Mathews doesn't look like getting past either batsman, and the Blackcaps look to work a couple of singles around.
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Over 8 - NZ 30/5 (Williamson 20, McCullum 1)
WICKET! And another one! Rangana Herath has four. This is already one of the great spells in Twenty20 internationals. He's only got two deliveries - the orthodox left-arm spinner and the arm ball, but New Zealand can't tell the difference and their batsmen are being made to look utterly clueless. Ronchi is the next to go, shuffling across his stumps and playing around one that ripped into his back pad. The appeal was immediate, and the umpire had no hesitation in raising the finger.
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Over 7 - NZ 28/4 (Williamson 19, Ronchi 2)
Malinga, who is captaining Sri Lanka today, comes on for the first time. The ball is hard and new, and so he looks to hit a length, rather than zing down a yorker. That gives Ronchi and Williamson the chance to angle the ball into the gaps and milk a couple of precious singles.
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Over 6 - NZ 23/4 (Williamson 16)
WICKETS! Remarkable scenes. What's going on out there? Rangana Herath, five foot nothing and slightly portly, appears to have utterly psyched New Zealand out. He's bowling with a slip and a short leg in place, and the first batsman he lines up is Ross Taylor. There's an appeal for a catch at short leg, then one for lbw, then another for lbw, and this time it's upheld. Taylor is out for a five-ball duck! Neesham trudges to the middle like a condemned man, and props half forward to his first delivery, with dips and spins between a massive bat-pad gap to set the stumps a-glowing. Remember, New Zealand are effectively 23 for 5 without Anderson!
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Over 5 - NZ 23/2 (Williamson 16, Taylor 0)
Suddenly, Kulasekara has the ball hooping in through the air. Williamson is rooted to the crease for the first five deliveries of this over, and it's the bowler who releases the pressure at the end. Kulasekara's final delivery is just a little too short, and Williamson rocks back to lift a pull shot in front of square.
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Over 4 - NZ 18/2 (Williamson 12)
WICKETS! Two in the over! Sri Lanka are right back in this. Guptill was the first to go in this over from Herath. The crowd are very noisy, and it's possible that Williamson didn't hear Guptill's call for a single off the first delivery. Williamson was ball-watching, even as Guptill sprinted down the wicket, and by the time he stopped, turned and tried to get back, the ball was already in Sangakkara's gloves. Enter Brendon McCullum. He is, perhaps, a little spooked by one that goes on with the arm and strikes the pad to spark an emotive lbw appeal, and jumps out of his crease at Herath's next delivery ... but this one is tossed up, dips, grips and spins past his outside edge. New Zealand's best batsman is stumped for a duck, and Sri Lanka will believe they can pull this off now.
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Injury news
We've just heard that Corey Anderson - who injured his finger attempting a catch in the outfield earlier - has gone to hospital and will not bat in this innings. That makes the task a little harder for New Zealand, who need to chase this total down with only 10 batsmen.
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Over 3 - NZ 18/0 (Williamson 12, Guptill 5)
Yet more fidgety batting from Williamson. It's not easy out there, but he's still looking to have a go at the bowling. Kulasekara continues his opening spell, and after sparring at a few deliveries Williamson flings his bat across the line. Fortunately for him, the ball takes a thick inside edge and rolls down to the fine leg boundary.
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Over 2 - NZ 12/0 (Williamson 8, Guptill 4)
Sri Lanka opt for medium pace from both ends, with Angelo Mathews sharing the early duties. Williamson charges him straight away, and is lucky to get away with it as an inside edge bounces past the stumps and is stopped by Sangakkara. The wicketkeeper immediately calls for a helmet and comes up to the stumps, but Mathews ruins what would have been a good over by slipping his final delivery down the leg side. Williamson bends low to flick it out to long leg for four!
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Over 1 - NZ 4/0 (Guptill 3, Williamson 1)
Nuwan Kulasekara takes the new ball for Sri Lanka, pumping his knees high as he sprints through his first over and bending his back to extract every bit of life from the pitch. He draws some unconvincing strokes from the batsmen, but there's nothing to really panic Guptill and Williamson just yet.
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One foot in the semi-finals?
This looks like an easy task for New Zealand, but these runs would have been enough to beat England on this same ground earlier. Remember, this is effectively a knockout match for these sides: whoever wins goes through. New Zealand have a powerful top order, but Sri Lanka's varied bowling attack must surely believe that they, too, can make the most of these conditions. Stick with us for the chase!
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Over 19.2 - SL 119 all out
WICKETS! Neesham finishes things off marvelously for New Zealand with two wickets in two balls. First to go was Senanayake, who looked to leather a full toss outside off stump, but unfortunately sent the ball straight into the hands of Williamson. To be honest, that was an atrocious ball, and even Neesham himself is a little sheepish in his celebration. His next delivery was little better, but it also brought a wicket! The ball curved down the leg side, but Malinga was stepping in that direction, and it ricocheted off his pads and into the stumps. Sri Lanka's innings ends with a whimper.
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Over 19 - SL 119/8 (Senanayake 17, Herath 1)
WICKET! Frenetic stuff! Perera lined up another heave to leg as Mills started his fourth over, but the ball took the top edge and looped instead down to third man for four. The bowler struck back with his very next delivery, a slower one that Perera sliced through to send the ball almost straight up. Williamson held onto the catch, but New Zealand's fielding in the remainder of the over left a little to be desired. Senanayake might have been run out twice, but instead he survives, and his team will look to him to make the most of the final six deliveries.
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Over 18 - SL 112/7 (Senanayake 15, Perera 12)
Perera and Senanayake are paying precious little attention to the wickets column. Sri Lanka need some brave batting, and so far these two are providing. Senanayake does most of the damage in this over from Neesham, clubbing a four over mid-off and then lifting a length delivery out to wide long-on, where Anderson parries the ball over the ropes. What's worse, Anderson appears to have dislocated a finger during the misfield, and immediately leaves the field to get some medical attention.
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Over 17 - SL 98/7 (Perera 11, Senanayake 2)
Thisara Perera has a strike rate of just under 150 in Twenty20 internationals, and he's not going to hold back, no matter the scoreline. He sets himself at the crease and throws everything into three wild swipes at Mills before finally connecting with one, the ball arcing in the air towards deep cover ... but falling just short of a diving Martin Guptill and bouncing past him for four.
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Over 16 - SL 93/7 (Perera 7, Senanayake 1)
WICKET! The batsmen continue to tumble! This has become a real procession. Kulasekara was new to the crease but time is swiftly running out, and he had to get into his stride quickly. He might, perhaps, have simply had a defensive look at his first delivery, but instead leaned back in his crease and set himself for a real wallop ... but McClenaghan rolled his fingers across the delivery, and the shot flew straight to Nathan McCullum at short extra cover. The over completes McClenaghan's work with the ball for the day, and he finishes with a tidy 4-0-24-2.
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Over 15 - SL 85/6 (Perera 0, Kulasekara 0)
WICKET! And another! Sri Lanka are fading now. Jayawardene was, perhaps, there last hope of posting a hefty total, and he's gone now. He'd just hit a boundary off Nathan McCullum too - skipping down the track to get to the pitch and swatting the ball over midwicket. McCullum stayed round the wicket and the very next ball rushed on with the arm to bowl a sweeping Jayawardene round his legs. We know that these conditions suit the bowlers - Netherlands showed as much earlier - but will Sri Lanka be able to reach a challenging total now?
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Over 14 - SL 81/5 (Jayawardene 21, Perera 0)
WICKET! New Zealand continue to chip away. McClenaghan has his first. He'd adopted a back-of-a-length, and at times, bouncer approach at the batsmen, and it appeared to have backfired as he dug one in very short and conceded a wide. But the overall effect was to keep the batsmen deep in the crease, expecting the short one, and Mathews departs as he attempts to drive, from the crease and on the up, and nicks off.
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Over 13 - SL 77/4 (Jayawardene 19, Mathews 5)
Spin for the first time from New Zealand: it's Nathan McCullum. He scoots very quickly through his first over, coming round the wicket and spearing the ball in flat and fast. With that approach, there's minimal turn off the track, but his lines are tight enough to keep the batsmen to nothing more than singles - four of them.
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Over 12 - SL 73/4 (Jayawardene 17, Mathews 3)
WICKET! Neesham breaks the stand! He strikes with his very first delivery of the match, Thirimanne slashing a cut in the air and down to Guptill at third man. Jayawardene's immediate riposte is to flick a boundary to fine leg, and he and Mathews run hard to make sure 8 runs come from the over despite the wicket. This pitch is providing a riveting battle between bat and ball. How many runs will Sri Lanka be happy with?
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Over 11 - SL 65/3 (Thirimanne 20, Jayawardene 12)
Thirimanne reaches out at a full one from Anderson and attempts to loft him over the infield, but the connection isn't a clean one and he's very lucky to survive as the ball loops over the backpedalling mid-on fielder. There's a little bit of needle between Thirimanne and Anderson thereafter, with the bowler repeatedly changing up his pace in order to keep the batsmen guessing. This stand is now worth 30 runs, and could well turn out to be a vital one for Sri Lanka.
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Over 10 - SL 55/3 (Thirimanne 12, Jayawardene 11)
McClenaghan continues, and he does a good job of bossing Sri Lanka's batsmen about. Both Thirimanne and Jayawardene move about a great deal in the crease, but every shot they connect with finds a fielder and they have to be content with ones and twos.
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Over 9 - SL 50/3 (Thirimanne 10, Jayawardene 8)
Anderson comes back into the attack, and such has been New Zealand's dominance that he's still got a slip in place - in the ninth over! Thirimanne and Jayawardene find a single apiece, but Jayawardene, in particular, looks vulnerable. Anderson beats his outside edge with a slow cutter, and then zings one down at maximum pace to hurry the batsman's defensive poke. Jayawardene is very lucky indeed as a bottom edge bounces over the stumps ...
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Over 8 - SL 48/3 (Thirimanne 9, Jayawardene 7)
With his bowlers snapping at the Sri Lankans, Brendon McCullum has decided to bowl Trent Boult out straight away. His fourth over is another good one, though Thirimanne is brave enough to uppercut a rising delivery up and over the slips for four. But the damage to Boult's figures is limited, and he finishes with 4-0-20-3. Good work. Can New Zealand keep it up?
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Over 7 - SL 42/3 (Jayawardene 6, Thirimanne 5)
This has been a superb start from New Zealand's seamers, and Mitchell McClenaghan keeps up the good work as he's brought on to bowl the 7th over. He's got two slips in place, and after shaping one past the outside the man at second slip is almost in business. Thirmanne is leaden-footed at the crease as he swishes at one that leaves him, and the ball flies just past a diving Nathan McCullum. You might call that a missed chance, but McCullum did well just to get near to it.
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Over 6 - SL 35/3 (Jayawardene 4)
WICKET! Sangakkara falls, and Sri Lanka are slipping. Sangakkara looked at ease, getting off the mark with one of his trademark flowing drives through extra cover, but he didn't find the going quite so easy when Boult pulled his length back. The left-hander aimed a flat-batted swat over the infield, but could get the ball only as far as a diving Anderson at mid-off.
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Over 5 - SL 30/2 (Jayawardene 3, Sangakkara 0)
A tight first over from Corey Anderson, who replaces Kyle Mills. This new ball is nipping around a fair bit under the lights, and Jayawardene manages to run one down to third man for the only scoring shot of the over.
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Over 4 - SL 29/2 (Jayawardene 2, Sangakkara 0)
WICKET! Well, in the last over the Dilscoop brought him four runs, but this time it's caused Dilshan's dismissal. The delivery was, perhaps, just a little too quick for him, and Boult is bowling with really good wheels in this spell. His third delivery rushed on to Dilshan as he ducked in his crease, ricocheting off the bat to be easily caught by a backpedalling Ronchi. Kumar Sangakkara leaves his first two balls outside off, and pokes with no great certainty at the third as it scoots past his outside edge.
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Over 3 - SL 27/1 (Dilshan 8, Jayawardene 1)
An early look at the Dilscoop! Dilshan clearly premeditated the shot, and Mills responded with a slower ball, but that didn't stop the batsman from lapping it cleanly back over the wicketkeeper's head for four. The bowler comes back well in the over after the boundary, mixing up his pace and beating the outside edge of a Dilshan slash outside off. Jayawardene, meanwhile, is allowed to get off the mark by a slight misfield at point.
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Over 2 - SL 20/1 (Dilshan 3, Jayawardene 0)
WICKET! Yet more fun and games from Perera, but he's gone now. He leans back in his crease to rifle a backfoot thump through cover point off Trent Boult's left-arm pace, but then departs after apparently feathering one down the leg side. Perera doesn't reckon he's hit it, but Ronchi appeals as the ball thumps into his gloves and Umpire Aleem Dar raises the finger. Perera really isn't happy, and shakes his head as he leaves the crease. Will the match referee be having a look at this? Between times, there's also a beamer from Boult, who seems to suggest that either a wet ball, or a sweaty palm, was to blame.
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Over 1 - SL 12/0 (Perera 11, Dilshan 1)
Sri Lanka have plenty of support in the stadium today, and they've found their voice very early on. Perera gets them going with a neat little flick off his pads for four, and then sparks even louder shouts with a muscled jab that flies over a leaping Jimmy Neesham for six at deep midwicket. Perera certainly isn't one to hold back, but this is a weakness as well as a strength. After two powerful boundaries, he heaves wildly at the final delivery of the over and connects with fresh air.
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A quarterfinal clash
There are, of course, no official quarterfinals in this tournament, but this game is effectively just that - whichever side loses today will crash out, while the winner will progress. So, with that in mind, let's begin ...
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Pitch and conditions
As we saw earlier, the pitches here in Chittagong may be flat, but the lack of pace and tennis-ball bounce can make it hard to force the pace. Nevertheless, Sri Lanka will still be aiming to put at least 160 on the board. The most important factor may well be the dew, however, and that made New Zealand's call at the toss crucial. The skies are still partly cloudly, so the dew may not be as bad as we were all worried about, but it will still affect Sri Lanka's bowling in the second half of this match.
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Team news
You may have noticed that Sri Lanka's captain, Dinesh Chandimal, is missing from that team list, and indeed he's been slapped with a one-match ban for a slow over rate. That means Thirimanne, the left-handed batsman, comes in to the XI, and Lasith Malinga will captain for the first time in his international career. Sri Lanka have also swapped Ajantha Mendis, who came in for serious punishment against England, for the left-arm spin of Rangana Herath. New Zealand, meanwhile, are playing an unchanged XI from their last match against Netherlands.
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New Zealand
1. Guptill, 2. Williamson, 3. B McCullum (c), 4. Taylor, 5. Anderson, 6. Neesham, 7. Ronchi (wk), 8. N McCullum, 9. Boult, 10. Mills, 11. McClenaghan.
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Sri Lanka
1. Perera, 2. Dilshan, 3. Jayawardene, 4. Sangakkara (wk), 5. Mathews, 6. Thirimanne, 7. Perera, 8. Kulasekara, 9. Senanayake, 10. Herath, 11. Malinga (c).
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Toss
New Zealand have won the toss and, unsurprisingly, opted to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the second match of the day in Chittagong.
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Greetings!
Hello and welcome to the second WT20 match of this day, this one with a bit more import. The winner will go through to the semi-finals, and the loser will bow out. Have you recovered from the Holland win over England? Go make a cuppa and join us in 30 minutes for this game.
new zealand BATTING CARD
| Batsman | R | |
|---|---|---|
| M.J. Guptill | run out (Herath) | 5 |
| K.S. Williamson | run out (Mathews) | 42 |
| B.B. McCullum | s Sangakkara b Herath | 0 |
| L.R.P.L. Taylor | lbw Herath | 0 |
| J.D.S. Neesham | b Herath | 0 |
| L. Ronchi | lbw Herath | 2 |
| N.L. McCullum | c Mathews b Senanayake | 2 |
| K.D. Mills | lbw Senanayake | 4 |
| T.A. Boult | c Jayawardene b Herath | 3 |
| Extras | 2w, | 2 |
| Total | All Out, 15.3 Overs | 60 |
Full Batting Card
sri lanka BOWLING CARD
| Bowler | O | M | R | W |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| K.M.D.N. Kulasekara | 3 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| A.D. Mathews | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| H.M.R.K.B. Herath | 3.3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| S.L. Malinga | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| S.M.S.M. Senanayake | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
