Nathan McCullum hit Rangana Herath for three sixes and a four in the final over to seal a last-ball win. PHOTO: AFP
The Black Caps, set a revised Duckworth-Lewis target of 198 in 23 overs, replied with 203 for six as McCullum hit spinner Rangana Herath for three sixes and a four to seal a last-ball win.
The victory was set up by a superb 86 off 68 balls from opener Tom Latham and a quickfire 49 by Luke Ronchi, the pair adding 93 from 57 deliveries for the fifth wicket. Both batsmen fell in the 21st over bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara, but McCullum steered the Black Caps home with an unbeaten 32 off nine balls.
Earlier, Sri Lanka made 138 for one from 23 overs in between a rain interruption of more than four hours. Sri Lanka, who won the toss and elected to bat, were 117 for one in 20.4 overs when bad weather hit the southern coastal town. When the game resumed, it was curtailed to 23 overs which allowed Sri Lanka to add a further 21 runs.
New Zealand’s reply began on the wrong foot when Kulasekara dismissed Anton Devcich and Rob Nicol off successive balls in the second over. Kulasekara finished with four for 34 and Senanayake took two for 31.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2013.
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