Herath ‘spins’ Sri Lanka to the Semis

Sidelights – ICC World T20 | Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand

119 can not be called a fighting total by any means, but Sri Lanka with the help of Rangana Herath, who, surprisingly, was playing his first game in the tournament, made 119 runs look 190 and won the game easily by 59 runs and made their all 6 Semi Finals in the ICC World T20. New Zealand fielded well but their batsmen did not compliment their bowlers and fielders and folded out for a paltry score of 60 runs.

ICC World T20 | Group 1 | Match 30 | New Zealand Vs Sri Lanka

Venue: Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong

Toss: New Zealand and elected to field first

Playing XIs:

Sri Lanka: Kusal Perera, Tillakratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Sachitra Senanayake, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga

New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Brendon McCullum, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Corry Anderson

Mini Score Card:

Sri Lanka 119 – all out (19.2) Mahela Jayawardene 25 (32) | Trent Boult 3/20 (4)

New Zealand 60 – all out (15.3) Kane Williamson 42 (43) | Rangana Herath 5/3 (3.3)

Result: Sri Lanka won by 59 runs

Points: Sri Lanka 2 (6), New Zealand 0

Man of the match: Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka)

Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pakistan) | Rod Tucker (Australia) | Bruce Oxenford (3^rd –  Australia) | Steve Davis (Reserve – Australia)

Match Referee: David Boon (Australia)

How they played the game

Powerplay: Sri Lanka 35 runs, 3 Wickets, New Zealand 23 runs, 4 Wickets

First 50 runs: Sri Lanka 52 balls, New Zealand 77 balls

50-100 runs: Sri Lanka 64 balls, New Zealand 60 – all out (15.3)

Best Partnership

Sri Lanka  4^th Wicket – 30 runs off 31 balls | Contributors: Lahiru Thirimanne 20 (18) and Mahela Jayawardene 8 (13)

New Zealand 1^st Wicket – 18 runs off 19 balls | Contributors: Kane Williamson 12 (10) Martin Guptill 5 (9)

Fours

Sri Lanka 13 (Lahiru Thirimanne and Thissara Perera – 3, Kusal Perera and Mahela Jayawardene – 2, Tillakratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachitra Senanayake -1)

New Zealand 7 (Kane Williamson -6, Kyle Mills – 1)

SIXERS

Sri Lanka 2 (Kusal Parera and Sachitra Senanayake – 1)

New Zealand 0

Important facts about the match:

• Lasith Malinga became the first captain to bat at No. 11 in T20I.
• Corey Anderson dislocated his finger during New Zealand’s fielding and remained absent not out during batting.
• Only Kane Williamson (42) could cross double digit mark in the entire New Zealand batting lineup.
• Sri Lanka’s Tillakratne Dilshan fined 20% of his match fees for showing dissent to the umpire’s decision.
• Sri Lanka made 6^th straight Semi-Final appearance in as many ICC World T20 tournaments.