Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in 2nd ODI to win another home series

It was Sri Lanka’s 5th ODI bid triumph astatine location successful 2024 aft it had beaten Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, India and West Indies. Sri Lanka couldn’t suffice for adjacent year’s Champions Trophy aft finishing ninth astatine past year’s 50-over World Cup successful India, but has since past mislaid conscionable 1 ODI bid successful Bangladesh portion winning 5 astatine home.

“It is truly pugnacious for batters to people runs here,” Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka said. “This is conscionable different series. As a team, we are moving towards a large extremity and we person to execute that, this is simply a process.”

Mendis followed his career-best 143 successful the bid opener with a determined 102-ball sound arsenic Sri Lanka reached 210-7 successful 46 overs.

The lucifer was chopped to 47 overs-a-side aft 2 rainfall interruptions erstwhile New Zealand batted and was bowled retired for 209 successful 45.1 overs. Sri Lanka was acceptable a people of 210.

Off-spinner Michael Bracewell’s archetypal four-wicket ODI haul (4-36) gave New Zealand a sniff erstwhile Sri Lanka slipped to 163-7 earlier Maheesh Theekshana (27 not out) shared a match-winning 47-run basal with Mendis and carried the squad home.

Earlier, Sri Lanka grassed a fewer hard chances but Avishka Fernando took 3 spectacular catches aft Asalanka won the flip and elected to field.

Mark Chapman ended his struggling batting signifier with 76 disconnected 81 balls, but his dismissal successful the 37th implicit would spot New Zealand suffer its past six wickets for 36 runs. Mitchell Hay made a good composed 49 disconnected 62 balls and shared a 75-run basal with Chapman. Hay was the past antheral to beryllium dismissed.

New Zealand struggled against a four-pronged rotation onslaught with Theekshana (3-31) and Jeffrey Vandersay (3-46) sharing six wickets. Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, the lone alteration Sri Lanka made from the squad which won the archetypal game, and Asalanka took 1 wicket each.

Bracewell mopped up the apical bid but Mendis stood steadfast arsenic helium completed his fractional period disconnected 84 balls with 4 boundaries. He added 39 runs with Janith Liyanage and different 31 with Wellalage, who struck 3 successive boundaries successful his 18-run sound against Nathan Smith earlier holing retired astatine mid-on to springiness Bracewell his 4th wicket.

But Theekshana showed immoderate aggression against pace, slicing accelerated bowler Jacob Duffy for the lone six successful the Sri Lanka pursuit and besides struck 2 boundaries.

“It is ever a situation erstwhile you are defending a debased score,” New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said. “Kusal played the concern precise good … that concern (between Kusal and Theekshana) astatine the extremity took it away, but we besides near a fewer runs retired there.”