Black Caps hold nerves to upset Sri Lanka in opener
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) — New Zealand held their nerve in a tense finish to beat last year’s finalist Sri Lanka by two wickets with a ball to spare in the opening match of the World Twenty20 Championship here yesterday.
Chasing a gettable 136 for victory, New Zealand scrambled the 10 required off the last over with Nathan McCullum smashing pacer Lasith Malinga over long-off for six to bring an emphatic end to the game at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence.
Opener Jesse Ryder blasted a top score of 42 from 27 balls with three fours and two sixes and added 62 for the second wicket with Martin Guptill, who scored 19 from 24 balls, but the innings plunged into decline with a flurry of dismissals.
Earlier, the stylish Mahela Jaywardene stroked an incredibly classy 81 from 51 balls to set the stage for Sri Lanka’s 135 for six off their allotted 20 overs, after they won the toss and batted.
The right-hander held the innings together after fellow opener Tillakaratne Dilshan (3) and captain Kumar Sangakkara (4) perished cheaply as Sri Lanka slipped to 44 for two in the ninth over.
Scoreboard
SRI LANKA
M Jayawardene c N McCullum b Southee 81
T Dilshan b Oram 3
*+KC Sangakkara b Styris 4
D Chandimal c Taylor b N McCullum 29
C Kapugedera c N McCullum b Bond 11
A Mathews c N McCullum b Bond 3
S Jayasuriya not out 0
Extras (lb3, w1) 4
TOTAL (6 wkts, 20 overs) 135
Did not bat: L Malinga, M Muralitharan, A Mendis, C Welegedara.
Fall of wickets: 1-35 (Dilshan, 5.4 overs), 2-44 (Sangakkara, 8.2), 3-103 (Chandimal, 15.4), 4-124 (Jayawardene, 18.1), 5-135 (Kapugedera, 19.4), 6-135 (Mathews, 20)
Bowling: N McCullum 3-0-17-1, Bond 4-0-35-2, Southee 4-0-21-1, Oram 3-0-23-1, Vettori 4-0-23-0, Styris 2-0-13-1.
NEW ZEALAND
B McCullum c Malinga b Mathews 0
J Ryder b Muralitharan 42
M Guptill b Jayasuriya 19
R Taylor c Mathews b Muralitharan 9
S Styris b Mendis 17
*D Vettori run out 17
J Oram b Welegedara 15
+G Hopkins run out 1
N McCullum not out 16
T Southee not out 0
Extras (b2, w1) 3
TOTAL (8 wkts, 19.5 overs) 139
Did not bat: S Bond.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (B McCullum, 0.4 overs), 2-62 (Ryder, 8.3), 3-66 (Guptill, 9.5), 4-86 (Taylor, 14.2), 5-96 (Styris, 16.2), 6-116 (Oram, 18.1), 7-117 (Hopkins, 18.2), 8-133 (Vettori, 19.4)
Bowling: Mathews 2-1-7-1, Welegedara 2-0-21-1, Mendis 4-0-34-1, Malinga 3.5-0-33-0, Muralitharan 4-0-25-2, Jayasuriya 4-0-17-1.
Points: New Zealand 2, Sri Lanka 0.
Man-of-the-Match: Nathan McCullum.
Toss: Sri Lanka.
Umpires: Steve Davis, Rudi Koertzen; TV – Billy Doctrove.
Matchreferee: Alan Hurst.
