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50 overs New Zealand 250 for 6 (Taylor 72, Watling 55, Malinga 2-39) v Sri Lanka
Ross Taylor made 72 off 62 © Associated Press
Ross Taylor took off from the base BJ Watling and Rob Nicol provided to take New Zealand to their highest ODI score against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. In the first ODI played under the latest revised conditions, which allow only four fielders outside the inner circle in non-Powerplay overs, New Zealand batted the old-fashioned way, preserving wickets for a late charge, which yielded 76 off the final nine overs.
Had Taylor not fallen early in the 46th over on 72 off 62 to a sharp catch by Angelo Mathews - after being put down three deliveries before by Upul Tharanga - New Zealand could have added a few more. Taylor had found his range at the death after being denied in the batting Powerplay by a succession of short deliveries from Lasith Malinga. The Powerplay produced only 31 runs but after that, Taylor targetted the medium-pace and good lengths of Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara to swing sixes over his favoured midwicket region. With only four men in the deep instead of five earlier, there were more gaps available and it was difficult for Mahela Jayawardene to plug areas such as deep midwicket.
Perera, whose seven overs went for 52, had been targetted earlier as well, by Taylor at the start of his innings and by Nicol and Watling after the end of the first Powerplay. New Zealand, who have lost seven of their previous eight ODIs, had made a slow start. Missing the injured Brendon McCullum, they managed just three boundaries in the first Powerplay.
They also lost just one wicket, that of Tom Latham, but Nicol and Watling were not finding it easy to score against a varied Sri Lanka attack on a pitch dried out by a couple of sunny days following incessant rain through the country which had forced the second and third ODIs to be shifted to Pallekele from Colombo.
Taylor had said New Zealand's approach under the revised conditions would be to keep wickets in hand for a late push. Nicol and Latham, the New Zealand openers, hardly played an aggressive stroke initially. Malinga and Kulasekara did not make their job easier with accurate swing bowling. Malinga set the tone when he beat Nicol off four successive away-moving deliveries in the opening over.
Malinga also sent the first ball of his second over past Nicol's outside edge. Nicol edged the next one, but Angelo Mathews was late to get down to his left at first slip. Two deliveries later, the luckless Malinga had Nicol poking at air outside off stump again.
Latham wasn't troubled as much, but that did not translate into runs for him. He took 14 deliveries to get off the mark, and Malinga ended his struggle off his 18th, with one that swung in through the left-hander's gate.
Nicol started to find some measure of control now and lifted Kulasekara over midwicket for the first controlled four of the innings in the eighth over. Watling, who had been of the few bright spots of New Zealand's otherwise miserable West Indies tour, got going soon with a clip to his favoured on side off Kulasekara.
Nicol and Watling were given some breathing space as Mahela Jayawardene brought on the allrounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera after the first Powerplay, which yielded just 28.
The spinners, Rangana Herath and Jeevan Mendis, presented a different challenge on the helpful surface. Nicol and Watling bided their time; the spinners also did not test them as much as they could have and bowled short deliveries frequently, especially Mendis.
Watling attacked the spinners after a few overs, slogging and pulling both for fours through the leg side. While Nicol edged Perera behind four runs shy of a fifty, Nicol carried on to his half-century but fell just before the start of the batting Powerplay when Jayawardene took a diving catch at midwicket.
Taylor and James Franklin could not capitalise on the Powerplay, but with the latter supporting him, Taylor ensured New Zealand had a decent score to defend.
Ross Taylor made 72 off 62 © Associated Press
Ross Taylor took off from the base BJ Watling and Rob Nicol provided to take New Zealand to their highest ODI score against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. In the first ODI played under the latest revised conditions, which allow only four fielders outside the inner circle in non-Powerplay overs, New Zealand batted the old-fashioned way, preserving wickets for a late charge, which yielded 76 off the final nine overs.
Had Taylor not fallen early in the 46th over on 72 off 62 to a sharp catch by Angelo Mathews - after being put down three deliveries before by Upul Tharanga - New Zealand could have added a few more. Taylor had found his range at the death after being denied in the batting Powerplay by a succession of short deliveries from Lasith Malinga. The Powerplay produced only 31 runs but after that, Taylor targetted the medium-pace and good lengths of Thisara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara to swing sixes over his favoured midwicket region. With only four men in the deep instead of five earlier, there were more gaps available and it was difficult for Mahela Jayawardene to plug areas such as deep midwicket.
Perera, whose seven overs went for 52, had been targetted earlier as well, by Taylor at the start of his innings and by Nicol and Watling after the end of the first Powerplay. New Zealand, who have lost seven of their previous eight ODIs, had made a slow start. Missing the injured Brendon McCullum, they managed just three boundaries in the first Powerplay.
They also lost just one wicket, that of Tom Latham, but Nicol and Watling were not finding it easy to score against a varied Sri Lanka attack on a pitch dried out by a couple of sunny days following incessant rain through the country which had forced the second and third ODIs to be shifted to Pallekele from Colombo.
Taylor had said New Zealand's approach under the revised conditions would be to keep wickets in hand for a late push. Nicol and Latham, the New Zealand openers, hardly played an aggressive stroke initially. Malinga and Kulasekara did not make their job easier with accurate swing bowling. Malinga set the tone when he beat Nicol off four successive away-moving deliveries in the opening over.
Malinga also sent the first ball of his second over past Nicol's outside edge. Nicol edged the next one, but Angelo Mathews was late to get down to his left at first slip. Two deliveries later, the luckless Malinga had Nicol poking at air outside off stump again.
Latham wasn't troubled as much, but that did not translate into runs for him. He took 14 deliveries to get off the mark, and Malinga ended his struggle off his 18th, with one that swung in through the left-hander's gate.
Nicol started to find some measure of control now and lifted Kulasekara over midwicket for the first controlled four of the innings in the eighth over. Watling, who had been of the few bright spots of New Zealand's otherwise miserable West Indies tour, got going soon with a clip to his favoured on side off Kulasekara.
Nicol and Watling were given some breathing space as Mahela Jayawardene brought on the allrounders Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera after the first Powerplay, which yielded just 28.
The spinners, Rangana Herath and Jeevan Mendis, presented a different challenge on the helpful surface. Nicol and Watling bided their time; the spinners also did not test them as much as they could have and bowled short deliveries frequently, especially Mendis.
Watling attacked the spinners after a few overs, slogging and pulling both for fours through the leg side. While Nicol edged Perera behind four runs shy of a fifty, Nicol carried on to his half-century but fell just before the start of the batting Powerplay when Jayawardene took a diving catch at midwicket.
Taylor and James Franklin could not capitalise on the Powerplay, but with the latter supporting him, Taylor ensured New Zealand had a decent score to defend.