Twitter Reactions: Martin Guptill and Kusal Perera light up the Bay Oval as the Kiwis go 1-0 up

The comeback man Jimmy Neesham hogged the limelight by scoring 34 runs in a single over of Thisara Perera.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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James Neesham
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James Neesham. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

The first One-Day International 2019 witnessed a couple of scintillating centuries from Martin Guptill and Kusal Perera as New Zealand triumphed in a high-scoring encounter at the Bay Oval. Chasing 372 runs, Sri Lanka started well and always stayed ahead of the scoring rate but a regular fall of wickets in the middle-overs pegged them back and despite Kusal’s superlative knock, they fell short considerably in the end.

Earlier though it was all about Martin Guptill as his affair with the comeback matches continued. He took his time early on in the innings and then unfurled the trademark backfoot punches and slog sweeps clearing the front leg. Kane Williamson joined him after an early fall of Colin Munro as the duo pummelled the toothless Sri Lankan bowling attack on a flat deck.

They added 163 runs for the second wicket stand and it literally took a silly shot for the Kiwi skipper to break it. He raced his way to 76 while Ross Taylor also scored a quickfire 54 off just 37 balls to accelerate the run-scoring. Amidst all that, Guptill got to his century and then went berserk to score 138 runs with 11 fours and five sixes. Despite the wickets falling in the death overs, the run kept coming rather fast.

The comeback man Jimmy Neesham thrashed Thisara Perera for 34 runs in the 49th over to propel New Zealand past the 350-run mark which looked distant at one stage. Eventually, they finished with a mammoth total of 371 runs on the board for the loss of seven wickets.

Dickwella and Kusal Perera tried hard but fail

In response, the tough chase was begun well by the island nation. Niroshan Dickwella and Danushka Gunathilaka gave Sri Lanka hope upfront by scoring 119 runs in less than 18 overs. The latter’s wicket only brought the destructive Kusal Perera to the middle while Dickwella also soon went back after scoring an impressive 76 off just 50 balls. However, the middle-order comprising of Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis and Asela Gunaratne floundered which put pressure on the set Kusal.

Though the left-hander didn’t give up and continued middling the ball to send it in the crowd. He single-handedly kept his team in the hunt and reached the three-figure for the fourth time in his ODI career. With the lack of support from the other end, the asking rate crept up to over 10 in the last eight overs and eventually, Kusal missed one to be dismissed on 102 off just 86 balls.

His wicket was the final nail in the coffin as the lower-order fell in clumps and Sri Lanka were bowled out for 326 in the penultimate over. They lost the game by 45 runs but it was a herculean effort from them in the chase which kept the hosts on the tenterhooks all the time. New Zealand will be happy though as they take a crucial 1-0 lead in the three-match series now.

Here’s how Twitter reacted during the course of the game:

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