One the third day of ICC World Cup 2019, New Zealand face Sri Lanka in Cardiff on Saturday. Fast bowler Matt Henry and openers scripted a thumping win over Sri Lanka with 10 wickets.
In his seven overs of pace and swing, Henry returned figures of 3-29 to justify the decision of skipper Kane Williamson to bowl first as New Zealand ran through the Sri Lanka line-up in just 29.2 overs. Only 137 were scored by the Lankans.
The openers Martin Guptill (73) and Colin Munro (58) succeeded in chasing the score. In the absence of senior paceman Tim Southee, who missed the game because of a calf injury, Lockie Ferguson also claimed three wickets.
Dimuth Karunaratne, the Sri Lankan skipper, was the lone batsman to impress with his unbeaten 52. His 52-run stand with Thisara Perera, who made 27 off 23 balls, was all that stood between Sri Lanka and complete humiliation.
In just the 12th over, Henry’s early strikes, including two in successive deliveries, pushed Sri Lanka back on 53 for four.
Initially, Thirimanne was ruled not-out by the on-field umpire, but the Kiwis successfully reviewed the LBW call in their favor after replays suggested the ball pitched online and would have hit the batsman’s leg stump.
Karunaratne struggled to register his third ODI fifty in 81 balls before running out of partners after Ferguson bowled Lasith Malinga for one. One wicket each was claimed by Pacemen Colin de Grandhomme, James Neesham, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner, the only spinner of the team.
Kane Williamson said that they had a great start. He mentioned that winning the toss first and picking wickets early was very important. He stated that there is actually not much problem playing on pitches like these as one can expect movement with the two new balls. Furthermore, he said that seeing off the new ball on such wickets is important, and if they do, it becomes good to bat on.
