Phillips and Boult shine as New Zealand defeats Sri Lanka

New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 65 runs in Sydney. Glenn Phillips' partnership with Daryl Mitchell helped New Zealand in scoring 167 runs. Sri Lanka was all out for 102 after failing to recover from the early blows given by New Zealand bowlers.

Perfect start for Sri Lanka:-

Sri Lankan bowlers got their team off to a strong start in the Powerplay. Maheesh Theekshana removed Finn Allen, who tried to cut the ball but utterly missed it, and the ball hit the stump. Dhananjaya de Silva handed his team their second breakthrough when he dismissed Devon Conway, who attempted to go over extra cover but the ball drifted past the bat and struck the top of the off stump. In the following over, Kasun Rajitha removed Kane Williamson, who saw the width on the ball and threw his hands at it, but got an outside edge and Kusal Mendis took an easy catch.

Phillips, Mitchell partnership:-

New Zealand was 15-3 at one stage, but an 84-run partnership between Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell helped them recover. Sri Lanka dropped Phillips twice, and he went on to hit a half-century and hammered Sri Lankan bowlers all over the ground. In the fourteenth over, Phillips smacked Karunaratne for 18 runs. Hasaranga broke the partnership by removing Mitchell in the next over.

Glenn Phillips century helped New Zealand to finish strongly:-

At one point, New Zealand was struggling to reach 150 runs, but Glenn Phillips' 104 off 64 balls helped to set a competitive target for Sri Lanka on a slow wicket. Phillips hammered Theekshana for back-to-back sixes in the 17th over. Phillips was dismissed in the final over by Lahiru Kumara, but Mitchell Santner's cameo, in the end helped New Zealand score 167 runs.

Sri Lankan batters struggled against Boult and Southee:-

Tim Southee removed Pathum Nissanka in the first over, and Trent Boult dismissed Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva in the second over. In the fourth over, Boult dismissed Asalanka, giving his team another breakthrough. In the sixth over, Rajapaksa smashed Ferguson for 12 runs. After the powerplay, Sri Lanka was 24/4. Mitchell Santner got the wicket of Chamika Karunaratne in his first over, who tried to pull the short ball but ended up hitting it to the man at deep midwicket.

Sri Lanka all out for 102:-

Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa tried but failed to form a partnership. Lockie Ferguson dismissed Rajapaksa after he mistimed the ball at mid-off. Hasaranga and Theekshana were dismissed by Ish Sodhi and Santner, leaving Sri Lanka on 65/8. Boult removed Shanaka in his final over to clinch his four-fer. Sodhi dismissed Lahiru Kumara, and Sri Lanka was bowled out for 102.