END OF OVER:25 | 14 Runs | NZ: 126/6 (90 runs required from 48 balls, RR: 5.04, RRR: 11.25)
- James Neesham42 (46b)
- Nathan McCullum35 (19b)
- Lasith Malinga3-0-31-0
- Nuwan Kulasekara4-1-20-1
So that is all we have from the match itself, follks. It was a stop-start-stop-start-sudden finish game. But in the end a shared result is possibly a fair reflection? Yes? No? Well whatever it is, that is how it stays as the caravan moves on to Pallekele for the first T20. Till then this is Alagappan Muthu, on behalf of scorer Gopi Rangarajan, saying sayonara
Tillakaratne Dilshan is Man of the Series. He says he's enjoying batting through this series. He was disappointed not converting his fifties to hundreds. With his retirement, he says he can work on his batting and fitness and also give the youngsters a chance. Bounce was up and down on this pitch. It is a good wicket if you considering the batsmen take care in the first few overs
Angelo Mathews says it was a see-saw game. Dilshan and Mahela batter well, he thought, and then the tail batted well to take them over 200 which was a good score. They had to consolidate in the middle, with conditions also playing a part and he praised the bowlers for doing it. He adds that the bowling unit has done well over the recent past and they had to back them up and they did extremely well considering the conditions
Kyle Mills led his side here with the intent of winning the series. He says they came back with the ball pretty well, they persevered and in the batting Luke Ronchi and Nathan McCullum and Jimmy Neesham did well to even put us in a winning position. He called it a shame that the match was cut short, but he said his side hadn't soaked up pressure well enough.
Sachithra Senanayake is Man of the Match for his late cameo and his two wickets with the ball. "Its my first experience winning the man of the match. We're playing a game here after three years and I've enjoyed myself a lot. I've played a lots of domestic matches and with so many experience players, talking to me, it worked out. The wicket turned a bit which we didn't expect at the start of the game and we did well to use that"
So New Zealand's quest to win a bilateral series in Sri Lanka continues, the last one coming 29 years ago. Do stay tuned as we bring you the presentation.
yohan: "Plz don't blame umpires . they go by universal rules start and stop times & lighting rules . they can't set rules for each ground . If NZ were in front at this stage , they would have won . but they were behind from the beginning even at this stage . So deserving win to Sri Lanka ."
5.43 pm The umpires are talking about the light and N Mac is leading the NZ protest. He really does not want to leave, but he has to.That is the end of the game as Sri Lanka come out winners. The players shake hands but this is not how the game should have ended, but then again it was always on the cards here in Dambulla after those rain breaks. The New Zealand top-order crumbled against the Herath and Senanayake, but James Neesham and Nathan McCullum led a spirited counterattack. It would have been another cracking contest, but as it happens, the second innings was curtailed at 25 overs, meaning Sri Lanka take his one by 36 runs and draw level in the three-match series 1-1.
Michael T: "Looking forward to the upcoming "T20" series: which will be 8 overs vs 3 overs, and winning the toss secures a win."
Vinay: "This is really a disgusting umpiring calculations. When everyone there knows how dark it gets by 6 pm, why was the match reset to 33 overs, rather than say 28 overs each?"
Vinson: "If the match gets called off because of bad light, does that mean NZ lose because 20 overs have already been bowled?"
Malinga has gone for 28 in 2.5