Sri Lanka chose to field first and held New Zealand to 172. In the 14th over, they were riding high at 121 for no loss after launching their run-chase in the most buoyant way possible. But after that, wickets began to fall and the pace of scoring was impacted, which finally resulted in the Lankans missing the mark by eight runs.
Charith Asalanka, the captain, accepted responsibility for the loss and said that all batters but the openers ought to have taken the pitch.
“I’m terribly dissatisfied with the outcome; we ought to have performed better. The rest of us, including myself, had to shoulder the load after the openers batted exceptionally well. At the post-match ceremony, Asalanka said, “That’s the beauty of this game, things can change quickly, and we hope to come back well.”
Desire to return and do exceptionally well in the upcoming game: Charith Asalanka
Asalanka thought his team could have done a little bit more in the first innings based on their on-field performance.
“I thought the pitch was good and it would be quite simple while the openers were batting, but I felt we could have done a little better with the bowling and fielding. “Want to return and perform exceptionally well in the upcoming game,” he continued.
In their powerplay, New Zealand only managed to score 32 points. At a score of 65, they were five points behind at the halfway point. Nevertheless, Michael Bracewell and Daryl Mitchell both played exceptionally well to record half-centuries. With the exception of Matheesha Pathirana, almost every member of the Lankan bowling team had a great day.
After just four overs, the right-arm fast was thrashed for 60. Regarding the Lankan batting effort, not a single batsman, aside from the openers, managed to reach the double-figure mark. Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Perera each scored a golden duck and a two-ball duck.
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