ICC Cricket World Cup, Highlights: Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori Guide New Zealand to Historic Win vs Sri Lanka
New Zealand have maintained their winning momentum as they crush Sri Lanka by 98 runs in the tournament opener. Catch all the highlights of the match here.
New Zealand win first World Cup game against Sri Lanka since 1992 with a 98-run victory. Catch all the highlights of the match here: (Scorecard | Highlights | Fixtures | Teams | Players | History)
11:24 (IST): That's That! Sri Lanka are bowled out for 233 runs in their tournament opener. Half-centurion Lahiru Thirimanne was the lone bright spot, Angelo Mathews also chipped in with 46. For New Zealand, Corey Anderson, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Adam Milne bagged two wickets each.
(New Zealand vs Sri Lanka scorecard|All about Christchurch venue)
Tim Southee has a fine autograph technique on the boundary #nzvsl ^RI pic.twitter.com/cxm2jEN0O3
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 14, 2015
10:57 (IST): WICKET! Tim Southee gets Angelo Mathews for 46. The Sri Lankan skipper steps down the track only to top edge pull to mid-on. Daniel Vettori takes a good running catch. South bags another as he removes Lasith Malinga for 0. Sri Lanka are nine down.
Chance - Taylor unable to hang on to one at first slip from Kulasekara, he lives to fight on. SL 186-6 in 37th #cwc15 ^RI
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 14, 2015
What a day for Christchurch #backtheBLACKCAPS #nzvsl #cwc15 ^CE pic.twitter.com/HletzrAKmj
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 14, 2015
10:23 (IST): Daniel Vettori finishes his quota of 10 overs. He ends with 2/34. Sri Lanka 179/6 (35 overs), need 153 more
10:13 (IST): In Melbourne, Aaron Finch fighting a lone battle as he scores his fifty. Australia are struggling at 87/3 in the 16th over. (Catch all live updates)
10:08 (IST): WICKET! Sri Lanka are collapsing like a pack of cards. The visitors have lost six chasing a mammoth 332. Daniel Vettori and Adam Milne have picked up two wickets each.
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09:40 (IST): Sri Lanka have lost Thirimanne, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara and are struggling at 152 for four in the 30th over. Daniel Vettori has bagged two wickets.
09:05 (IST): FIFTY!Lahiru Thirimanne scores his 11th half-century. Sri Lanka 97/1 (18 overs), need 235 more to beat New Zealand.
08:45 (IST): WICKET! Tillakaratne Dilshan is gone. Daniel Vettori beats Dilshan in the air as the opener gets early into his shot and lobs an easy return catch.
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08:15 (IST): Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Australia and England gear up for their opening clash. Catch all the live updates here
Five overs in and no wicket yet, but the BLACKCAPS have restricted Sri Lanka to 17-0. Decent start with the ball #nzvsl #cwc15 ^CE
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 14, 2015
07:52 (IST): Sri Lanka openers Lahiru Thirimanne and Dilshan are out in the middle. Tim Southee starts proceedings for New Zealand.
07:24 (IST): That's it! Corey Anderson (75), Brendon McCullum (65), Kane Williamson (57) have powered New Zealand to 331 for six against Sri Lanka. Jeevan Mendis and Suranga Lakmal picked two wickets each.
This is now the @BLACKCAPS' highest #CWC score against a Test playing nation. #NZvSL #Statchat #CWC15
- NZ Cricket Museum (@NZCricketMuseum) February 14, 2015
07:12 (IST): FIFTY! Corey Anderson scores his third half-century. New Zealand go past 300 vs Sri Lanka.
07:09 (IST): Lasith Malinga cleans up Luke Ronchi with a yorker but it is called a frontfoot No Ball.
07:00 (IST): DROPPED! Danger-man Corey Anderson is dropped on 43 by Jeevan Mendis at cover off Suranga Lakmal. He will get three for that.
06:50 (IST): WICKET! Suranga Lakmal gets his second wicket as removes Grant Elliott to break 65-run stand. Elliott holes out to Lahiru Thirimanne at deep mid-wicket. Umpires checked for waist-high No Ball but it was marginal.
06:46 (IST): FIFTY STAND! Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson keep New Zealand on course for a huge total. The two have put on 59 runs for the fifth wicket.
06:30 (IST): Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson have added 39 runs for the fifth wicket. The duo scored 33 runs in the batting powerplay.
06:10 (IST): Batting powerplay (36-40 overs) is in progress.
06:04 (IST): Corey Anderson survives the hat-trick ball from Jeevan Mendis as he solidly defends it. Mendis has done his job.
06:03 (IST): WICKET! New Zealand have lost two in two balls. After Williamson, Jeevan Mendis gets Ross Taylor for 14. He deceives Taylor and Kumar Sangakkara removes the bails off in a flash.
05:57 (IST): WICKET! Dimuth Karunaratne takes a superb diving catch at long on to bring an end to Kane Williamson's innings (57). Jeevan Mendis gets the breakthrough.
05:52 (IST): FIFTY! Kane Williamson scores his 16th half-century in ODIs. New Zealand 183/2 (32 overs) vs Sri Lanka.
05:40 (IST): Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor slowly and building up their innings. The duo has added 34 runs for the third wicket.
05:26 (IST): STAT! Lasith Malinga has snared 31 wickets in his 15 World Cup matches, including his best numbers of 6/38.
.@OfficialSLC have fought back well after NZ's opening onslaught. LIVE: http://t.co/bLKNa41aHp #NZvSL #CWC15 pic.twitter.com/Ef7qyAklS1
- cricket.com.au (@CricketAus) February 13, 2015
05:12 (IST): WICKET! Martin Guptill falls short of fifty in his 100th ODI. Looks to steer it down to third man but edges straight to keeper Kumar Sangakkara off Suranga Lakmal. New Zealand 132/2.
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04:53 (IST): DROPPED! Kane Williamson is dropped on 0 by Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps off Suranga Lakmal. Will it prove costly?
04:45 (IST): WICKET! Brendon McCullum is out after scoring 65 off 49 balls (10x4s and 1x6). Kiwi skipper looks to go over the top but fails to clear long off. Jeevan Mendis times his jump to perfection to complete the catch. Rangana Herath breaks the 111-runs opening stand.
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04:30 (IST): FIFTY! Brendon McCullum scores his 28th half-century in ODIs. New Zealand 82/0 (11.4 overs) vs Sri Lanka
04:16 (IST): Brendon McCullum is punishing Lasith Malinga, hammers 23 runs in 8th over. Malinga to McCullum 4 4Nb 6 0 0 4 4. New Zealand 68/0.
04:07 (IST): Change in bowling: Angelo Mathews replaces Nuwan Kulasekara. New Zealand 44/0 (6 overs) vs Sri Lanka
04:04 (IST): Martin Guptill is looking in superb touch. New Zealand 38/0 (5 overs) vs Sri Lanka
03:51 (IST): STAT! Lasith Malinga has the lowest World Cup average - 17.87 - out of all of the bowlers named for the World Cup 2015.
03:41 (IST): FOUR! Brendon McCullum gets off the mark with a cracking boundary over extra cover off Nuwan Kulasekara. New Zealand 6/0 vs Sri Lanka
03:35 (IST): Martin Guptill and Brendon McCullum are out in the middle. Nuwan Kulasekara to start proceedings for Sri Lanka.
Everyone's up for the anthems #backtheblackcaps ^RI https://t.co/nhRjP379lC
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 13, 2015
03:32 (IST): Start of play between New Zealand and Sri Lanka is delayed due to rain.
How awesome is a full Hagley? We're almost set for a start #cwc15 #backtheblackcaps ^RI pic.twitter.com/wpEqRks52R
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 13, 2015
03:22 (IST): STAT! Opener Martin Guptill becomes 21st New Zealander to play 100 ODIs.
Congratulations to @martyguptill on becoming the 21st New Zealander to 100 ODIs! #nzvsl ^CE pic.twitter.com/WtMN6jzMln
- BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) February 13, 2015
03:17 (IST): TEAMS
New Zealand: Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Grant Elliott, Corey Anderson, Luke Ronchi, Daniel Vettori, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
Sri Lanka: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Dimuth Karunaratne, Jeevan Mendis, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Rangana Herath, Lasith Malinga
03:04 (IST): Toss! Sri Lanka opt to bowl vs New Zealand under overcast conditions.
Team in focus: New Zealand
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Going just by form, New Zealand have the bragging rights. The Kiwis indeed take flight at home!
Brendon McCullum led his players to four wins in a seven-match series against visiting Sri Lanka - with one ODI being washed out. At Christchurch, expectations would be as high as the possibly cloudy sky itself - there's a 20% chance of rain.
What is working in New Zealand's favour is that playing at home has given them a momentum. Key players have performed well against Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the recent series and the composition is well-balanced. This would make most bet on them in Saturday's encounter. Others who may want to bet against them are ones who have followed New Zealand closely in World Cups.
The team - much like Sri Lanka - have the habit of reaching the semifinals. The team - much like Sri Lanka again - also fail when it matters the most. Failure in front of home fans would be quite devastating and in a group (Pool A) which has giants like Australia and England, a loss in the opener can be quite detrimental.
Team in focus: Sri Lanka
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Sri Lankans won the 1996 World Cup. Period.
In all other World Cups, their strong showing has been shadowed by failure in crunch games. While the likes of Jayawardene and Sangakkara know what triumph at the biggest stage means, the Angelo Mathews-led side is rather young.
The recent losses in New Zealand would be firmly set in their minds. Revenge would be paramount and it would be its sweetest best if it comes on a grand stage.
Interestingly, three of the top five scorers in the recent series were Lankans. Dilshan and Sangakkara topped the list of scorers while Jayawardene was fifth. Of course, there was that one washed out match where only the Lankans batted but even then, there are enough indications of a lethal firepower.
Add to that the incentive of a million US dollars promised to them back home if the Lankans can win the World Cup and there are enough reasons for the team to get off the block with a big bang.
Players in focus:
Brendon McCullum is the man expected to get the loudest cheer from the home fans. The New Zealand captain is a lethal batsman and a capable wicket-keeper.
Kane Williamson is in excellent touch too. He slapped a century and two fifties in the recent series against Lanka and would be the prime target.
Corey Anderson's all-round skills is the most effective when put to use at home. He too would be a deadly prospect.
Sri Lanka will bank on veterans Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Dilshan to bat up a storm. Add Rangana Herath's spin to the mix - even on rather unhelpful Kiwi tracks - and it would be a mouth-watering contest.
Duels in numbers:
New Zealand have faced off against Sri Lanka in 89 ODIs. The team has won 41 as against 40 claimed by Sri Lankans. One match has been tied and seven have not seen a result.
In New Zealand, the dominance of the hosts is more visible. Of 34 ODIs here, the Kiwis have won 21 with two seeing no result. At Christchurch in particular, New Zealand have won the only ODI played against Sri Lanka.
Did you know?
* New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets on February 25, 1992. This is the only time the two teams have played a World Cup on New Zealand soil.
* Since the above mentioned match, New Zealand have lost all their five World Cup matches against Sri Lanka.