New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 6th ODI at Dunedin, , Jan 25 2015 - Ball by Ball Commentary

RESULT
6th ODI, Dunedin, January 25, 2015, Sri Lanka in New Zealand ODI Series
(40.3/50 ov, T:316) 195

New Zealand won by 120 runs

Player Of The Match
40 (28) & 4/52
corey-anderson
New
SL
Full commentary

6.30 pm So we leave the sunny shores of Dunedin as the party moves on to Wellington on January 29 for the final ODI of the series. Sri Lanka will badly want to end this tour on a good note, while the hosts would not want to squander the momentum they have incurred thus far through these performances. It has been a superb day of cricket, and we hope you all thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Till the next time then, this is ESPNcricinfo signing off!

Fat Lady : "Oh Danny Boy, The Cup, the Cup is coming..."

Corey Anderson, Man of the Match: You are not always going to get wickets, but today it was nice. Brendon was talking to me quite a bit and backed me up. It was nice to get through ten overs today as well. Feeling reasonably good with the bat, and I thought the way Rosco and Kane played helped make my job easier. It has been really good here in Dunedin. It has been hot so it is nice to see the crowds as well.

Anderson is the Man of the Match

Lahiru Thirimanne, Sri Lanka captain: Our concern is our death bowling. We bowled the first 35 very good, but not so in the last 15 overs. We couldn't get any wickets and we leaked runs. We need to come out of this strong. Our fast bowlers don't have much experience, especially with Nuwan and Lasith out. Lasith should be okay for the World Cup. This is all a learning curve for the young boys. Hopefully we can get it right for the World Cup. Kumar played very well in this series, but our middle order needs to be more consistent. That is our main concern. We do have another game to make this right and get our confidence right for the World Cup

Brendon McCullum, New Zealand captain: It was a thorough performance today. We came in against a very good SL team. The partnerships we built on the way to 315 was very good, and the bowlers came through in the end as well. Very happy with the series win. We try to be reasonably aggressive at the start, but we do have some quality batsmen who can spend time out in the middle. We have the options and some class players to help us get the balance right. Corey I thought was really good today. Kept running in hard and taking wickets and being aggressive with the ball. Ross went very well and missed out on a big total there. You are never going to be 100% as you do crave that perfection. As long as you strive to keep getting better and have the right attitude then we can do some good things.

We will be back shortly with quotes from the match presentation.

6.15pm New Zealand complete yet another sizable victory in Dunedin, this time sealing it by 120 runs, and win the series as they take an unassailable 4-1 lead in the series. Twin 90s from Taylor and Williamson provided the framework for the first innings, before some good, disciplined bowling ensured Sri Lanka could never run away with it. Sangakkara did his best to keep this one going, but once he perished, it was only a matter of time before New Zealand finished off the job. Anderson is the pick of the bowlers having taken figures of 4 for 52.

40.3
W
McClenaghan to Lakmal, OUT

and Guptill ends it all after Lakmal goes after this back of a length, looking to cart it over midwicket, but gets a top-edge which flies right over the wicket, with Guptill taking the catch just over the non-striker's end

Suranga Lakmal c Guptill b McClenaghan 3 (5b 0x4 0x6 7m) SR: 60

Kumar: "What is Thirumanne thinking by making Lakmal bat? Does he expect that Lakmal and Herath will get SL over the line. This will do more harm than good cause this might aggravate Lakmal's injury."

40.3
1w
McClenaghan to Lakmal, 1 wide

129 kph, slips in the bouncer which is well over Lakmal's head as the umpire signals to the scorer

40.2
2
McClenaghan to Lakmal, 2 runs

135 kph, picks up this length ball on middle and leg and lifts it high over cow corner, but not enough to beat a chasing McCullum, who puts in a splendid dive before the rope to save the run

40.1
McClenaghan to Lakmal, no run

135 kph, brings the hammer down as this is fended away to the off side

end of over 401 run
SL: 192/9CRR: 4.80 RRR: 12.40
Rangana Herath1 (5b)
Suranga Lakmal1 (2b)
Kyle Mills 6-0-29-0
Mitchell McClenaghan 4-1-26-1

CharlyPharly: "Sri Lanka know their strengths - three of the best ODI batsman in the world. They know their weaknesses - middle lower order batting and 3-5 bowling. They need to work within that framework and work out the best strategy. I think put your best three batsman at 3, 4 and 5 (i.e. swap Dilshan down the order), and open with some aggressive risky stroke makers. "

39.6
Mills to Herath, no run

127 kph, gets a bottom-edge to this attempted pull through midwicket, but the ball ends up falling short of Ronchi as he went after it

39.5
Mills to Herath, no run

130 kph, pitches it up a bit further as Herath seems to be stuck in an infinite loop

39.4
Mills to Herath, no run

128 kph, another play-and-a-miss from Herath as he is late again on this fullish ball

DanielAlexander: "Run-out is my man-of-the-series"

39.3
Mills to Herath, no run

128 kph, is well late on this fuller one going across him as he looks to caress this through the covers

39.2
1
Mills to Lakmal, 1 run

126 kph, pulls the bowler straight past him to find the long on fielder

39.1
Mills to Lakmal, no run

126 kph, deliberated whether to go after this one outside his off stump, but decides against it

And after that wonderful fielding effort before, Mills has been handed the ball to try and finish this off

end of over 39Wicket maiden
SL: 191/9CRR: 4.89 RRR: 11.36
Rangana Herath1 (1b)
Mitchell McClenaghan 4-1-26-1
Trent Boult 8-2-31-1

Lakmal will indeed bat then. Brave stuff from him as he has a groin injury to contend with as well

38.6
W
McClenaghan to Prasad, OUT

133 kph, NZ have to be the best fielding outfit going around! Another brilliant run-out effected, this time by Mills as he makes a late decision to throw at the non-striker's after there was a mix-up in the middle between the two. Prasad ends up trying to get down to the other end, but is short of his crease when the throw hits the stumps. Nine down now SL and it looks all but over in Dunedin

Dhammika Prasad run out (Mills) 2 (13b 0x4 0x6 21m) SR: 15.38
38.5
McClenaghan to Prasad, no run

134 kph, tries to guide one away square off the wicket, but doesn't quite middle it

38.4
McClenaghan to Prasad, no run

131 kph, gets onto the back foot before working this one away through mid off

Fat Lady: "You rang? I was thinking about doing Danny Boy in honor of the man of the day."

38.3
McClenaghan to Prasad, no run

131 kph, is well late on this length ball going across him

38.2
McClenaghan to Prasad, no run

133 kph, delivers one on middle and leg as Prasad deflects it away

38.1
McClenaghan to Prasad, no run

128 kph, strikes Prasad just above the knee roll as he puts in a hopeful shout, but the umpire remains nonplussed

Brendon looking to mix it up as McClenaghan comes on to bowl

end of over 3810 runs • 1 wicket
SL: 191/8CRR: 5.02 RRR: 10.41
Dhammika Prasad2 (7b)
Rangana Herath1 (1b)
Trent Boult 8-2-31-1
Corey Anderson 10-0-52-4

shihan: "That awkward moment when Prasad's batting avg higher than Mendis :)"

37.6
1
Boult to Prasad, 1 run

139 kph, slips one down the leg side now as this is flicked away efficiently to deep fine leg

37.5
1
Boult to Herath, 1 run

137 kph, able to just about get away this back of a length through the leg side

This could also be the last wicket for SL with Suranga Lakmal's groin injury. Might not even bat him in an effort to preserve him for the next match. Rangana Herath is the new batsman for SL

Huge interest among the crowd now with Sangakkara's exit. He was the chief wicket for all parties involved till then.

37.4
W
Boult to Sangakkara, OUT

135 kph, and Boult has landed the Big Kahuna as Sangakkara, forced at this point to deal with an escalating required rate, ends up getting a leading edge to this one he looked to flick behind square, with the ball spooning up to mid on, who takes the catch comfortably. That could be the final death blow for Sri Lanka, despite having the two wickets still in hand. But you know cricket, it is never over till the fat lady sings!

Kumar Sangakkara c Vettori b Boult 81 (66b 7x4 2x6 106m) SR: 122.72

ajit: "I think NZ is hitting a real watershed moment in terms of talent - perhaps like Australia had a while ago. Is Anderson really hitting close to 140kph on top of his batting ability. And Neesham, who can do the same is not even in the squad? People need to pay attention because we are witnessing the start of an amazing turn in NZ cricket."

37.3
4
Boult to Sangakkara, FOUR runs

133 kph, this time goes wide of third man with an uppish slice that beats the boundary rider to the rope

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