High-5 Henry hits heights
Finn Allen made 51 after an early piece of luck and Henry Shipley took 5-31 as the Black Caps beat Sri Lanka by 198 runs in the first one-day international at Eden Park last night.
Opener Allen’s off stump was hit by a delivery from Kasun Rajitha in the third over of the match, when he was on nine, but the bails didn’t move and he went on to make 51 off 49 – his team’s highest score.
The Black Caps were ultimately dismissed for 274 with three balls remaining after being sent in by Dasun Shanaka, as Allen was followed by several of his team-mates in failing to kick on.
Henry Shipley then delivered his best ODI bowling performance as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 76 inside 20 overs, taking 5-31 from his seven overs to set up New Zealand’s seventh-largest ODI win in terms of runs.
Allen also avoided a close runout shout when he got bogged down after his opening partner Chad Bowes was dismissed for 14 off 15 on debut.
He got going again in the 18th over, hitting leg-spinner Wanindu Harasinga for back-toback sixes, then adding a four off Chamika Karunaratne in the 19th to bring up his fifth ODI halfcentury.
The powerful hitter attempted one big swing too many off the next ball he faced and was caught at deep third-man.
Daryl Mitchell was the other top-four batter to make a start but not kick on, departing when Karunaratne leapt high at mid-on to take a catch and dismiss him for 47 off 58.
Rachin Ravindra marked his ODI debut with a crucial innings of 49 off 52 at No 7 that helped the Black Caps post a competitive total after they slumped to 152-5 in the 30th over following Mitchell’s dismissal.
The left-hander shared in a partnership of 66 with Glenn Phillips for the sixth wicket, which ended when Phillips was caught at deep mid-wicket for 39 off 42, having taken 12 balls to find his first run.
Karunaratne finished with 4-43, but only bowled nine overs, while fellow seamers Lahiru Kumar and Kasun Rajitha each picked up a pair of wickets.
The Black Caps got an early breakthrough when a mix-up led to Nuwanidu Fernando being run out in the third over.
Shipley then took charge and claimed four wickets in a sixover spell as Sri Lanka slumped to 31-5 in the 10th over, with Kusal Mendis making a 16-ball duck and Dasun bizarrely reviewing a catch at first slip.
Veteran Angelo Mathews was the last remaining recognised batter in his return to ODIs after a two-year absence, but he was then trapped lbw by Blair Tickner for 18 off 25.
At 46-6, Sri Lanka were in an almighty hole and they ultimately mustered just 76 – their fifth-lowest ODI total – with Mitchell taking 2-12 and Tickner 2-20.
The big moment
The mix-up that sent Nuwanidu on his way was a gift the Black Caps readily accepted. It put Sri Lanka on the back foot and allowed Shipley and Tickner to ease into their work.
Best with bat
Allen and Ravindra were the standout performers and it was shame the former couldn’t loan the latter one run so they both made half-centuries. While Ravindra is batting down the order for now, they could be a long-term opening pair.
Best with ball
Shipley had a baptism of fire making his ODI debut in India in January, but he showed what he is capable of here, sending down a devastating spell that turned the match.
The big picture
Sri Lanka are headed to the Cricket World Cup qualifier later this year, as the clean sweep they needed to qualify directly is beyond them. The Caps can make it eight ODI series’ wins out of 10 since the last World Cup on Tuesday. Just over $1.2m was raised for NZ Red Cross to support cyclone recovery.