Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka`s Heroics At Saxton Oval
In the dead-rubber final Twenty20 International at the Saxton Oval in Nelson, Sri Lanka prevailed a win in a high-scoring thriller thanks to a quick fire 101 off just 46 balls from Kusal Perera and his century partnership with captain Charith Asalanka. In Return Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell too provided quickfire knocks that put New Zealand in the hunt for their greatest successful chase in the format, but they lost by seven runs. The visitors won the match by 7 runs as a consolation win as the hosts won the series 2-1
Mitchell Santner, who had batted first in the first two games, asked the visitors to take the first strike in an attempt to find a fresh path to victory with his unaltered starting lineup. Saxton Oval overnight rains, which covered the field and caused the game to start half an hour later than scheduled, may have had an impact on his choice. In the third over, Pathum Nissanka struck Matt Henry for a four and a six before top-edgeing a pull that ‘keeper Mitchell Hay got beneath after running all the way back to the boundary ropes behind him. This gave the game a lively start.
Kusal Perera came in and received a whack to his helmet grille from the first ball he faced. Following that, he was primarily responsible for administering punishment. Sri Lanka were just 49 for 2 after the PowerPlay, relying on Perera and an underperforming middle order to give momentum during the middle phase. Perera began the phase with a couple of boundaries off Michael Bracewell, the second of which was fairly fortunate as a difficult catch was turned down. Avishka Fernando then smacked Bracewell for another four and a six, and the 25 runs he gave in his two overs essentially shifted the tide in favour of the visitors.
A brilliant review by Santner ended Fernando’s innings on 17, but his departure in the tenth over brought Kusal Perera together with skipper Charith Asalanka, who had pleaded with his middle order to improve following the two losses. Following the rallying cry, Asalanka led the charge himself, hitting Zakary Foulkes for a six and four straight down the ground in a 17-run over. Perera then launched Glenn Phillips for a six over cow corner, finishing his half-century in just 27 balls.
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Sri Lanka continued to attack spin, with Santner’s 15th over costing 22 runs, with Asalanka smashing his rival for a pair of sixes and Perera adding a couple of fours while surviving another drop. Sri Lanka scored 53 runs in the next three overs, and it took Perera only 14 deliveries to get from 50 to 100. He became only the third Sri Lankan to score a T20I ton, after Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene, after smacking three sixes from a Henry over. Charith Asalanka fell for a 24-ball 46, although he had contributed significantly to a 100-run stand in 45 deliveries.
Tim Robinson and Ravindra combined for 81 for the first wicket in just 7.2 overs as the hosts capitalized on their late momentum with a surge at the beginning of the chase. Robinson scored his 36 runs in the PowerPlay at a strike-rate that approached 200, demonstrating his quicker start. After welcoming Wanindu Hasaranga with two sixes, Ravindra caught up. Later in the over, Bhanuka Rajapaksa gave him a reprieve by putting down a good chance at backward point.
Given Sri Lanka’s success against spin earlier in the afternoon, the middle overs against it were likely to be crucial. Asalanka came in to bowl the ninth over against two left-handers immediately after Binura Fernando broke the opening stand, and Mark Chapman duly lofted him for a six. But when Chapman blasted a straight ball to deep midwicket two balls later, the Sri Lankan skipper responded. Glenn Phillips found the man at sweeper cover after he was dismissed by his wide lines in the following over, giving him further success. Then, in his third over, Asalanka put the visitors solidly in front by dismissing Ravindra for 69 off 39 balls.
However, certain tidal alterations were still to occur. Mitchell took full advantage of his lengths to hit four sixes down the ground, and Asalanka was taken for the same number of runs from his final over after giving up just 25 from his first three overs. Now that the equation was down from 30, it was 51, and New Zealand was in control. However, Hasaranga’s 16th over, which went for only two runs and claimed the wickets of Hay and Bracewell, completely turned the tide of the match back in Sri Lanka’s favor. When Mitchell holed out in the next over, which was bowled by Nuwan Thushara, the hosts were dealt a serious blow. However, this was a bit unrealistic.
New Zealand However Needed 22 runs in last over bt fell short for 7 runs as the visitor took the match as a consolation win. Jacob Duffy was named as the Player Of The Series while Kusal Perera was handed the Player Of The Match Award
