Dunith Wellalage, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Maheesh Theekshana combined to take six wickets, leading to New Zealand being bowled out for a total of 135 in just 19.3 overs. In response, New Zealand’s fast bowler Zakary Foulkes excelled with a three-wicket haul in his short spell, but Sri Lankan captain Charith Asalanka’s masterful unbeaten 35 helped guide the team home to a score of 140-6, securing the win with one over remaining.
Asalanka commented on his performance, stating, “There were a few nerves, but my strategy was to bat through to the end.” He also acknowledged that the Sri Lankan bowlers could have dismissed New Zealand with a lower total, adding, “Credit should go to their lower order batters for fighting back.”
The second and final match of the series is scheduled to take place at the same venue on Sunday, followed by three One Day Internationals as both teams gear up for the upcoming Champions Trophy next year.
New Zealand faced difficulties right from the start, stumbling to 31 runs for the loss of three wickets during the batting powerplay. Captain Mitchell Santner reflected on their performance, noting, “I thought we did fairly well to reach 130; at one point, it seemed we wouldn’t make it. It was definitely a challenging spinning wicket. We believed we could defend the target, but a couple of solid innings turned the game around.”
Early on, Tim Robinson fell victim to Wellalage’s quick arm ball, while Mark Chapman sent a delivery from fast bowler Nuwan Tushara to Hasaranga at deep square leg. Opening batter Will Young managed to hit a six and a four during his brisk 19 runs, yet succumbed to Theekshana’s fuller delivery, leading to an lbw decision.
Hasaranga, with figures of 2-20, along with Matheesha Pathirana (2-29), cranked up the pressure during the middle overs. Glenn Phillips was deceived by a googly from Hasaranga, leading to him being trapped lbw, and Wicketkeeper Pathirana took an outside edge from Mitchell Hay. Santner was also out in the 16th over when he missed Hasaranga’s delivery and was stumped, leaving New Zealand in a precarious position at 96-8. Foulkes rallied a fighting unbeaten 27 off 16 balls but eventually, Wellalage concluded New Zealand’s innings by claiming the last two wickets in consecutive deliveries.
Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a rocky start as Santner trapped Kusal Mendis lbw in his opening over. Pathum Nissanka (19) then attempted an ambitious shot off Foulkes’ final delivery of the powerplay but was clean bowled, while Kusal Perera (23) also fell foul to an arm ball from Michael Bracewell, resulting in another lbw dismissal.
Perera made headlines by becoming Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer in T20 Internationals, surpassing the record previously set by Tillakaratne Dilshan with 1,889 runs. Asalanka, named player of the match for his 28-ball innings, played a pivotal role by hitting two sixes and a four, despite Foulkes’ intervention which resulted in Bhanuka Rajapaksa being caught behind. Additionally, Hasaranga (22) was dismissed while attempting a pull shot off Foulkes when only 11 runs were required for victory.