ODI World Cup 2023: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, Match 41 - Who Said What?
New Zealand solidified their chances for a spot in the penultimate clash.
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The clash between New Zealand and Sri Lanka was a much-needed one for the former, as it gave them the chance to solidify a semi-final spot for themselves. They did complete justice to the situation by winning the game convincingly against the Kusal Mendis-led side on Thursday, November 09, which was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Speaking of the match, after a fiery show from the Black Caps' bowling unit, they bundled out the opposition for a paltry score of 171. Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner were the stars with the ball, as they shared five wickets between them. Kusal Perera gave a perfect start to the team, but it soon turned into misery, as wickets kept falling like a pack of cards.
In reply, they chased down the target in just 23.2 overs, with five wickets and 26.4 overs still remaining. Angelo Mathews picked up a couple of wickets and a run-out at the non-striker's end. Meanwhile, openers Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra gave a perfect start with an 86-run stand. Glenn Phillips hit the winning runs as the Kane Williamson-led side clinched two crucial points to aggregate five wins in the tournament so far.
Talking Points
The Thunder'Boult' in Bengaluru:
After having a decent outing in the ODI World Cup 2023 thus far, New Zealand's premier left-arm pacer Trent Boult was seen at his absolute best. He dismantled the Sri Lankan batting order with three crucial scalps to his name, which included the likes of Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka. In his ten-over spell, Boult finished with 3/37 and also got the Player of the Match against the Lankan Lions.
Kusal Perera shines with the bat
Sri Lankan opener Kusal Perera, who struggled to get a go in the tournament, finally showed signs of his batting prowess, providing a blistering start to the Lankans. The keeper-batter scored 51 runs off just 28 balls, which were powered by nine boundaries and a couple of big hits. He didn't get support from other batters, as they failed to capitalise on the start provided by the southpaw.
Who Said What?
Kane Williamson | Winning Skipper: Really good performance. Early wickets and spin was a challenge through those middle overs. Pitch really slowed down later. The guys showed some good intent later with the chase so great performance overall. We thought there was going to be some weather later but there wasn't any. Hard to read such things. Glad we were able to pick up wickets, people like Perera can take the game away from you. Always great getting our 5th and 6th spinners into the game, a great effort overall. Few teams can end up on the same points, it's about control. Hopefully we can get a couple of days off, we'll be hanging around, not really sure what we'll do. Hopefully if things go our way, would be great to involved in a semi. Will be looking forward to the challenge.
Kusal Mendis | Losing Skipper: (Translated) We lost 4 wickets in first 10 overs and that's what got us into trouble. We could have easily gotten 300 on this pitch. Madushanka bowled really well but it was tough to take wickets because we were defending a small total. Quite enjoyed captaincy, disappointed about my own performance but overall it was enjoyable. Very happy to see players putting their hands up and performing.
Trent Boult | Player of the Match: Nice to get bit of success at the top there (new ball). Big game, must-win game for us, pleasure is getting that result, yeah a good night. It's a challenging format, challenging part of the world to open the bowling. I feel like I've used my experience in some part of the game. Nice to be on a decent side of it tonight. Always the biggest challenge here (India) is to come across different conditions and conditions that change throughout the tournament. Everyone wants a piece of the host nation, they are playing phenomenal cricket. Time will tell what will happen there (playing India in the semifinal). I am sure it will be an exciting game.
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