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The world has seen a magnificent cricket match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka. New Zealand have hosted Sri Lanka in the two-match test series, which started on the 9th of March. After playing for five days, New Zealand secured a thrilling victory in the 1st match as they defeated the Lankans in the very last ball.
Toss: Tim Southee, the captain of New Zealand, won the toss and opted to bowl first.
1st Innings of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka started their batting innings with Oshada Fernando and Dimuth Karunaratne. But they failed to get a good start as Oshada Fernando lost his wicket after scoring 13 runs.
However, skipper Karunaratne handled the situation with Kusal Mendis. They made a strong partnership of 137 runs for the Lankans. Kusal Mendis was much more aggressive than Dimuth Karunaratne. With 16 boundaries, Kusal Mendis scored the highest 87 off 83 balls before losing the wicket to Tim Southee. Meanwhile, Dimuth Karunaratne added 50 runs for the Lankans.
After them, Angelo Matthews, Chandimal, and De Silva contributed with 47, 39, and 46 runs, which helped the Lankans end their innings with 355 runs.
New Zealand had a strong start
Tom Latham and Devon Conway gave New Zealand a strong start. They picked up 67 runs in the opening wicket. Although Conway departed the pitch after scoring 30 runs, Tom Latham didn’t miss the half-century and scored 67 before losing the wicket.
Mitchell, who scored 102 runs in the first innings, played a significant role. His crucial century helped New Zealand score 373 runs in the 1st innings, which helped the team to take the lead of 18 runs.
2nd innings of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka suffered a lot in their 2nd innings. After two days, the behavior of the wicket changed, and bowlers started getting benefits from the pitch. As a result, the Lankan batter couldn’t stay long on the crease.
But experienced Angelo Matthews played a fantastic role to rescue the team. His brilliant 115 off 235 balls ended Sri Lanka’si innings in 302 runs. Therefore, New Zealand needed 285 runs to win the match.
2nd innings of New Zealand
The Sri Lankan bowler did really well in the 2nd innings of New Zealand. Spiner Asitha Fernando picked up three wickets to put New Zealand under tremendous pressure.
However, former captain Kane Williamson showed his class in this match. He scored an unbeaten 121 runs. Unfortunately, the other Kiwi batters couldn’t contribute much. It seemed Sri Lanka were winning the match.
In the last three balls, New Zealand needed five runs. Kane Williamson handled the situation very wisely as he smashed a boundary to release the pressure. After that, New Zealand needed only one run to win the match and Williamson did it.
