Kane Williamson won the toss today at the SCG and sent the Sri Lankans to bowl first. Williamson felt it was an excellent decision to bat first and set a good total but things did not go according to plan for the Kiwis.
Finn Allen who set ablaze in his previous match lost his wicket in the very first over of the match. Sri Lanka has kept a wicket-to-wicket line which has been the root cause for the New Zealand top-order batsmen to fail with scoring runs.
New Zealand lost their top-order batsmen in a span of 3 and a half overs. The total score of the top three was only 10 runs. Sri Lankan bowlers would be very pleased with the way they have bowled.
The Lankan bowlers used the advantage of the weather conditions. The overcast weather helped the ball with a late swing. All three bowlers Theekshana, Rajitha, and De Silva worked in partnership. It was a smart decision by the captain not to give the Kiwis a lot of pace. Shanaka went with spin in the powerplay which proved handy.
While Rajitha swung the ball around and kept the pressure on the batsmen, both the spinners went for a more wicket-attacking line and got early wickets. New Zealand lost early wickets which meant they had to then restart by building a partnership.
In situations like this, the batting side needs to hold their wickets which affects the run rate. By the end of the powerplay, New Zealand’s run rate was around 4.5 runs per over. Glen Phillips and Daryl Mitchell worked a partnership together and brought New Zealand to the 100 mark in the 15th over.
Glenn Phillip has been New Zealand's only effective batsman so far. He is fighting his heart out at the pitch to give New Zealand a defendable target. He has scored a hard-fought hundred with a good strike rate. 70% of the runs have come his bat alone which is not a good a very good team effort by New Zealand.
New Zealand have put up a defendable total of 167. The Sri Lankan batsmen have a major wall to climb. We all know about the quality of the Kiwi bowlers. It is a second innings of excitement.
