Rachin Ravindra shone with the bat and then more so with the ball as New Zealand outclassed Sri Lanka by 61 runs to climb to second in points table and move one step closer to the semi-finals race. Rachin Ravindra looked fluent with the bat initially before shining with the ball. New Zealand put into bat first scored 168/7 with Ravindra scoring 32 off them but the Kiwis were 98/6 in 16 overs and added 70 runs in the last 4 overs with Santner scoring 47 and McConchie scoring 31* off 23 balls that took them to 168/7.
In reply, Sri Lanka never got going as Rachin Ravindra spun a web by picking up 4 wickets in quick time while Matt Henry picked up 2 early wickets and others all chipped in as Sri Lanka played Test cricket kind of game and laboured their way to 107/8 in 20 overs and lost the contest by 61 runs. New Zealand boosted their Net Run Rate but know a win against England on Friday night will send them into the finals.
Mitchell Santner’s late blitz helps New Zealand post a competitive 168/7.Â
Put into bat first, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen came out to open for New Zealand while Dilshan Madushanka had ball in hand for Sri Lanka. Allen got the Kiwis off to a flier while Seifert looked circumspect out there. The duo started briskly and managed to put 30 runs in 3 overs. But it was the start of the 4th over when the first partnership ended as the 30-run stand was broken by Maheesh Theekshana as Allen fell for 23 off 13 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next.
Seifert followed his opening partner back to the hut as just 4 runs were added to the tally before Seifert fell for 8 off 9 balls with one boundary to his name as Dushmantha Chameera got his wicket with Kamindu Mendis taking a good catch at backward square leg. Glenn Phillips came out to bat next. Ravindra and Phillips tried to rebuild proceedings from the two early setbacks as the powerplay score was 44/2 in 6 overs.
The duo carried on and batted almost till 10 overs as the duo of Phillips and Ravindra put on 41 crucial runs for the third wicket before Phillips fell for 18 off 18 balls with one boundary to his name to Dushmantha Chameera as the batter was cleaned up. Daryl Mitchell came out to bat next.
Ravindra too fell soon as just 9 runs were added to the tally before the southpaw fell for 32 off 22 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Theekshana. Mark Chapman came out to bat next. Theekshana had two in the over as Chapman came and went for a silver duck clean bowled by Theekshana. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to bat next. The score remained at 84 when Daryl Mitchell was clean bowled by Wellalage for 3 off 7 balls as New Zealand went from 84/3 to 84/6 in no time. Cole McConchie came to join Santner in the middle with the Kiwis in deep trouble.
But what followed was a great turnaround by the Kiwis. The Kiwis were 90/6 in 15 overs and then 98/6 in 16 overs. This is where the tide changed as Santner and McConchie took the game away from the Sri Lankan bowling. Sri Lanka wilted under pressure as well. Some loose stuff were bowled as the Kiwis just kept on hammering as overs of 21 and 19 became a normality in the last 4 overs.
Santner was the main aggressor but McConchie was not left behind either. The Kiwis added 70 runs in the last 4 overs to take the game away from the home team. Some massive overs also happened as the duo put on 84 runs off 47 balls and 70 off those came in the last 4 overs. Santner fell off the final ball of the innings for 47 off 26 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name as Chameera got another while Asalanka took a good catch as well. McConchie remained unbeaten on 31 off 23 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name as New Zealand recovered dramatically to finish with 168/7 in 20 overs. 6 extras given by the fielding side.
Sri Lanka bowled well for the first 16 overs before giving it away in the end. Maheesh Theekshana finished with 3/30 in 4 overs. Dushmantha Chameera finished with 3/38 in 4 overs. Dunith Wellalage finished with 1/27 in 4 overs. Dilshan Madushanka finished with 0/34 in 3 overs. Dushan Hemantha finished with 0/22 in 2 overs. Charith Asalanka finished with 0/16 in 3 overs. This meant Sri Lanka now needed 169 runs to win off 20 overs.
Rachin Ravindra’s 4-wicket haul restricts Sri Lanka to a mere 107/8 in 20 overs to win by 61 runs.Â
Chasing 169 for the win, Pathum Nissanka and keeper batter Kusal Mendis came out to open the batting for Sri Lanka while Matt Henry had ball in hand for New Zealand. The Kiwis got off the best possible start as Henry removed Nissanka for a golden duck. Charith Asalanka came out to bat next. Asalanka played a good shot and added 6 runs with Kusal Mendis before Asalanka fell for 5 off 9 balls with one boundary to his name to Henry.
Pavan Rathnayake came out to bat next. The duo of Kusal and Rathnayake tried to forge a partnership but were busy playing dot balls. They just did not adapt well to the conditions and had no intent to go for the runs. The powerplay score was 20/2 in 6 overs. Both went at less than run a ball and sealed the fate for the Lankans. The duo added 21 runs for the 3rd wicket before Kusal was stumped by Rachin Ravindra for a painstaking 11 off 22 balls with one four to his name. Kamindu Mendis came out to bat next.
Rathnayake fell soon after as Ravindra had two wickets in one over as Rathnayake fell for 10 off 18 balls. Captain Dasun Shanaka came in with the score at 29/4 in 8.2 overs. Shanaka and Kamindu tried to forge a partnership and got an odd boundary here and there. But the game was done and dusted by now. Sri Lanka were 45/4 in 10 overs with backs against the wall. The duo added 17 runs for the 5th wicket before Shanaka fell for 3 off 5 balls to Ravindra yet again.
Dushan Hemantha came out to bat next. Kamindu played his shots and tried to take the Lankans to a decent score in the chase. The duo of Hemantha and Kamindu added 13 runs to the tally before Hemantha fell for 3 off 6 balls to Ravindra yet again. Dunith Wellalage came out to bat next. Kamindu and Wellalage resisted for the Lankans a little bit but for how long was the question. The duo added another 18 runs for the 7th wicket before Kamindu fell for 31 off 23 balls with 4 fours to his name to Mitchell Santner as Sri Lanka slipped to 77/7 in 15 overs.
Dushmantha Chameera came out to bat next as we got set for the last rites. Wellalage played some shots and entertained the crowd for the last moments but the match was beyond them by now. Chameera stayed at the other end as the duo added 28 runs for the 8th wicket before Wellalage fell for 29 off 23 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Glenn Phillips. Maheesh Theekshana came out to bat with 2 balls left in the match.
The duo of Theekshana and Chameera added 2 runs off 2 balls as Sri Lanka finished with 107/8 in 20 overs. Chameera remained unbeaten on 7 off 12 balls while Theekshana remained unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 7 extras given by the fielding side. Rachin Ravindra was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/27 in 4 overs. Matt Henry finished with 2/3 in 2 overs. Mitchell Santner finished with 1/19 in 4 overs. Glenn Phillips finished with 1/21 in 4 overs. Cole McConchie finished with 0/20 in 3 overs. Lockie Ferguson finished with 0/2 in 1 over. Ish Sodhi finished with 0/13 in 2 overs. So, New Zealand thrash Sri Lanka by 61 runs. Rachin Ravindra was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.Â
So, New Zealand with this win improves their Net Run Rate with a 61-run win and are in 2nd place with 3 points from 2 games. Sri Lanka with this loss are still languishing at the bottom with 0 points and are officially out of the semi-finals race. New Zealand next plays England on Friday at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo while Sri Lanka will play Pakistan on Saturday at Pallekele.
Tomorrow, we have Group 1 fixtures. First-up we will have West Indies vs South Africa live from Ahmedabad from 3 PM IST. This will be followed by India vs Zimbabwe live from Chennai from 7 PM IST. Big games with qualification ramifications up for grabs. All eyes will be on Ahmedabad first and then Chennai. Let’s see how both these games pan out on Super Thursday double header.
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