Cricket Highlights, 14 Mar: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka (1st Test)

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka (1st Test)

A few days ago, New Zealand had a memorable triumph over England by 1 run. This time, the Kiwis have got another great win against Sri Lanka. They repeated the incident of 75 years ago by defeating the Lankans in the last ball of the match.

Hosts New Zealand secured a thrilling 2-wicket victory on the final day of the Christchurch Test on Monday (March 13). On a nail-biter, Tim Southee’s team guaranteed their win on the last ball. Kane Williamson left the field ensuring the victory of the team after scoring a great century.

In the history of 150 years, the cricket world has seen the event of victory with the last ball of a Test only once before. Even that incident is 75 years old. England won that Test against South Africa in Durban on 20 December 1948.

By dint of New Zealand, the world saw such an event for the second time. But before that, there was a lot of drama. Williamson was fighting alone with Neil Wagner. Asitha Fernando bowled the last ball of the match at a short length. Williamson could not touch the ball-bat even after trying to pull that delivery. He also ran to take the run.

Wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella threw the ball to break the wicket on the striking end but it failed to break the stumps. Bowler Fernando collected the ball and threw it again to the non-striker’s end. Sri Lanka appealed if it was an out as the ball struck the stumps, and a few nerve-wracking moments followed. However, television replays confirmed that Williamson had reached the non-strike boundary before the wickets were broken. The New Zealand team leaped up with the joy of winning on the last ball with that.

Earlier, Sri Lanka lost the toss and went to bat in the first innings, they could collect 355 runs. In reply, New Zealand scored 373 runs relying on Daryl Mitchell’s century. Sri Lanka scored 302 runs as Angelo Mathews made 115 after coming to bat staying 18 runs behind.

New Zealand needed 285 runs to win. In the end, the hosts reached the target of 285 runs after losing 8 wickets due to the determination of Williamson. Asitha Fernando took 3 wickets. Prabath Jayasuriya took 2 wickets and Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara took 1 wicket each.

The fourth day of the Christchurch Test ended with a great thrill. Angelo Mathews’ brilliant century for Sri Lanka set New Zealand a target of 285. New Zealand managed to score 28 runs losing 1 wicket and coming down to bat at the last minute. On the fifth day, the hosts needed 257 runs to win, and Sri Lanka needed 9 wickets to secure their goal.

It rained at the beginning of the fifth day. The first session ended with the outfield drying up before the start of play. As 37 overs were lost, the day’s play came down to 53 overs. In the era of English “Bazzball”, the goal was not impossible. However, the risk is also high.

When the game started, spinner Prabath Jayasuriya quickly picked up two wickets to raise some hopes for the Lankans. When Tom Latham (25) and Henry Nicholls (20) got out, New Zealand was a bit on the back foot. But from there, Williamson and Daryl Mitchell brought the team back into the match. These two Kiwi batsmen knocked Sri Lanka out of the match by building up a partnership of 142 runs.

Mitchell was out off Fernando with 81 runs from 86 balls. With that, the Kiwi batters started coming to the wicket and getting back. Tom Blundell returned with the team’s 238 runs, Michael Bracewell on the team’s 266 runs and Tim Southee made his way back whilst the team total was 273 runs.

New Zealand needed 8 runs off Asitha’s last over to win. After taking singles in the first two balls, Henry was run out while trying to take doubles in the third ball. Then New Zealand needed 5 runs from 3 balls, and Sri Lanka required 2 wickets.

Williamson hit a four off the fourth ball to bring the match in the favor of New Zealand. But with the fifth ball being a dot, New Zealand needed one run to win on the last ball. New Zealand cheered with a victory after the third umpire’s scenes on the last ball. Kane Williamson was unbeaten on 121 off 194 balls. The Kiwis reached the goal of winning scoring quick runs in the ODI style at the last moment. 

New Zealand’s win also confirmed the lineup for the World Test Championship final. India will fight against Australia in Lord’s final. The two teams will meet in the second and final Test match of the series on March 17.

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Scoreboard

Sri Lanka (1st Innings) – 355/10 (92.4)

New Zealand (1st Innings) – 373/10 (107.3)

Sri Lanka (2nd Innings) – 302/10 (105.3)

New Zealand (2nd Innings) – 285/8 (70.0)

Result – New Zealand won by 2 wickets

Player of the match – Daryl Mitchell

Daryl Mitchell

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka Playing Xis