Martin Guptill takes a screamer and helps the Kiwis whitewash Sri Lanka

Perera's knock thus ended on 80 and with that Sri Lanka's resistance.

Published - 08 Jan 2019, 18:48 IST | Updated - 08 Jan 2019, 18:48 IST

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Martin Guptill, New Zealand, Catch, NZ v SL

New Zealand beat Sri Lanka 3-0 to beat them all ends in the ODI series. While the first and third matches were rather one-sided the visitors did come close in the second ODI and it had a lot to do with New Zealand‘s poor fielding. The host players were rather too generous and dropped 6 catches and allowed the Lankans to score 298 runs in pursuit of 320. Thisara Perera who had scored his career-best 142 runs and was the lone warrior in that chase was also dropped by the captain Kane Williamson while he was on 79. However, Martin Guptill made amends and took a stunner in 3rd ODI to dismiss him rather early.

It was a screamer from Guptill that ensured they got rid of the Sri Lankan all-rounder Perera. He wanted to go big on the off-side and having marked his field, moved towards the leg-side trying to make room. The bowler did well to follow him and it was short one bowled on the line of the off-stump thus cramping Perera and not allowing him to free his arms.

Having gone too far into it already, the batter had no choice but to go for it. He played the shot with little conviction and it didn’t come off the middle of the bat. There was a short-third man and a point fielder placed inside the ring on the off-side and the ball didn’t cross the in-field successfully.

It was Guptill positioned at point and he had his eyes glued on the ball as soon as it left Perera’s bat. The ball slashed rather hard was travelling away from the fielder but he was committed. Would’ve been difficult for any other fielder but at 1.88 meters Guptill stands tall enough and he stretched full-fledged outstretching his right hand to grab it out of thin air. It was one of those dismissals where the fielder solely deserves all the credit for getting the batsman out.

The catch also ensured Perera who was batting on 80 then couldn’t replicate his rather crazy knock from the previous match and give them a scare. With that, it also ended Sri Lanka’s hopes of salvaging pride in the ODI series as the suffered a 115-run defeat.