sri lanka 290 per 8 (Nissanka 66, Kusal 54, Liyanage 53, Henry 4-55, Santner 2-55) New Zealand 150 (Chapman 81, Asita 3-26, Malinga 3-35, Tekshana 3-35) 140 runs.
New Zealand soon fell to 48 for six and 77 for seven, and although the last rites took some time, Sri Lanka dismissed the opposition for 150 inside 30 overs. This was the third one-sided game of the series. New Zealand won the other two.
Asitha’s 3 for 26 was not a masterclass in swing bowling. He struggled with his lines at times. However, he featured some incredible deliveries as he collected far more swing than any other bowler in the game. Rachin Ravindra’s ball to bring out the leg stumps was excellent. Asitha angles it across the left-hander and tails it to slip between bat and pad very late. He maintained that form in his delivery throughout that new-ball spell. He struck twice in the seventh over, both removing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips for ducks.
But the first factor in Sri Lanka’s 140-run win was Nissanka and Kusal’s fifties. Nissanka’s 66 off 42 was unusual. He made 50 off the 31st delivery he played, but appeared to pull a hamstring while completing that run and left the field at the end of the 10th over. Kusal then replaced him at the crease and reeled off 54 from 48 to salvage what was a humbling tour for him.
Nissanka especially enjoyed catching short balls. He hit five sixes and six fours in his innings, and returned to center in the 34th over, taking a few swings but not being able to run or reach particularly far outside off. Kusal hit two sixes and five fours after scoring all the runs after the initial defensive stint.
Santner was one of the main architects of Sri Lanka’s mid-season slowdown. They were 155 for 1 after 27 overs (Nissanka was also hurt) but lost three wickets in the next seven overs and made just 28. They recovered to Liyanage, who built a clever innings to lead the low side to a half-century. -Middle order and tail. Liyanage made 53 off 52 balls before falling in the final over. He hit five boundaries, two of them sixes. But mainly it was about pushing the game deep and making sure Sri Lanka batted for 50 overs.
However, New Zealand had no answer to Asitha’s bowling of his career. Chapman recognized that new-ball spell, gained confidence after the powerplay and found the boundary with the same ease that Nissanka and Kusal had earlier. He was particularly strong offside, hitting all but two of his 10 fours on the ground.
But thanks to that early collapse, they never seemed to threaten their target.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf
