08/04Result
3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand at Queenstown, Apr 8 2023
New Zealand won by 4 wkts (1b rem)
Player of the Match
Tim SeifertNew Zealand
08/04Result
3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand at Queenstown, Apr 8 2023
New Zealand won by 4 wkts (1b rem)
Player of the Match
Tim SeifertNew Zealand

That's it for our live coverage of this tour. Stick around for Madushka Balasuriya's match report. And of course, join us for the IPL fun. Till then, take it easy.

Tom Latham: "They put us under a bit of pressure bowling first, and it was good to see the guys respond to that and keep them to a total that was a little below par. Seifert got the required rate down to seven in the last six or seven overs, which was really important. It was a little tight, but we got the result. When you're chasing you know the equation, and on a really good wicket it was really hard to defend. There's some big pockets out there so the twos come into play as well.

"It was really good to see new guys come in and perform. It shows the depth in New Zealand. It was nice to see Chad Bowes and Ben Lister going about their jobs."

Dasun Shanaka: "We were 10-15 runs short today. That was the main lack, on the batting side. New Zealand did really well in the series.

[On the decision to bowl Kumara in the last over]: "We need to make a decision whether I was bowling or Lahiru, but we decided to go with the main fast bowler."

"The main adjustment was the conditions. When we come here again we must make sure we come two or three weeks before."

Seifert is also player of the series, having hit 79 in Dunedin as well: "I didn't get off to the best start in the series, but that happens. In Dunedin Chad took a lot of pressure off me getting a fast start. My cricket's been going well, but importantly we are getting the wins. If I'm not keeping I do back myself to be in the team just as a batter. I'm not going to Pakistan (he's got a baby on the way), so the real work is about to start."

Tim Seifert, is Player of the Match: "We got ahead of the run rate, and sometimes you do go down the gears a bit. It's a balance. The over I got out was the one we were going to target to get 10 or 20 runs. And we saw later that it takes only a couple of wickets for the bowling side to get back into the game as well."

Zubair Islam : "SL scored only 3 runs in the last over.... that's where they lost the match ". It was a poor finish, but also the bowling wasn't particularly varied or impressive to Seifert early on. There was some poor fielding and a dropped catch as well.

All up, a poor tour for Sri Lanka. They were completely outclassed in the ODIs, made a big charge in one Test, but were beaten soundly in the other. The T20 series was their most competitive, with many of New Zealand's stars away at the IPL. And even there, they managed just the one win via the Super Over - their only victory in the six weeks they've been in New Zealand.

Shehan: "In that missed run out, there was a fielder behind the stumps in the bowler's end who was jumping up and down without backing up and breaking the stumps."

Phew! Another tight finish in a summer of tight finishes in New Zealand. There were the two Tests that came down to the last ball, and then the Super Over in the T20 in Auckland. This one didn't come down to the last one, but Sri Lanka fought back brilliantly in the last few overs to make a game of it.

19.5
2
Kumara to Ravindra, 2 runs, Ravindra does what's required. This is short, wide-ish of off stump. He cuts it in the gap between deep point and deep third, and there's plenty of time for a couple there. Well struck.
19.4
1b
Kumara to Milne, 1 bye, they've run a bye.Oh my lord. Mendis misses the stumps with his overarm throw. Kumara collects and tries to underarm the stumps at the non-striker's but misses. That could have been the game there. This had been a short ball that Milne threw his bat at and missed

A manic finish here, after New Zealand cruised for so much of it.

19.3
W
Kumara to Mitchell, OUT, another wicket! A team hat-trick, and this is getting hectic. This is a short ball just wide of off. Mitchell tries to flat bat it down the ground, with both mid on and mid off up in the circle. But it goes hiiigh off his tip edge, and Shanaka settles under it, and takes it above his head.

DJ Mitchell c Shanaka b Kumara 15 (34m 16b 0x4 0x6) SR: 93.75

19.3
W
Kumara to Neesham, 1 wide, OUT, run out! I think Neesham is gone here.This is a very wide yorker, just inside the tram lines. They try to run a bye, but the keeper throws the ball back to Kumara, who throws down the non-striker's stumps to find Neesham a few inches short. It's called a wide, though, so New Zealand got something out of that ball.

JDS Neesham run out 0 (2m 0b 0x4 0x6) SR: -

New Zealand need just three to tie, four to win. Neesham on strike.

Sri Lanka, you'd expect, would need another wicket here to really make a game of this.

19.2
W
Kumara to Chapman, OUT, he's gone now, though. Is there another twist here? This is a length ball, 140kph, and Chapman tries to pummel this over the legside again, and can only get a top edge to the ball. It floats towards cover, where Asalanka takes a good catch, backpedaling.

MS Chapman c Asalanka b Kumara 16 (22m 12b 1x4 1x6) SR: 133.33

19.1
6
Kumara to Chapman, SIX, superb from Chapman. That's a slow ball, but Chapman was expecting it, and gets under it, because Kumara has pitched it short and he has bashed that high just in front of square on the legside.

Lahiru Kumara to bowl the last over. There was a big team meeting and he's ended up with the ball.

END OF OVER:
19 | 7 Runs | NZ: 173/3 (10 runs required from 6 balls, RR: 9.10, RRR: 10.00)

  • Mark Chapman10 (10b)
  • Daryl Mitchell15 (15b)
  • Pramod Madushan4-0-38-1
  • Kasun Rajitha4-0-34-0

Only seven runs off that. Excellent little passage from Sri Lanka's bowlers.

18.6
1
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, 1 run, beautiful yorker from Madushan. Pretty much right in the blockhole. Chapman digs it out to deep backward square,
18.5
1
Pramod Madushan to Mitchell, 1 run, slower one again, which Mitchell stays back to and again clubs it down the ground, but it's straight to Shanaka at long on now, and it's just a single
18.4
1
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, 1 run, length ball outside off, pace on this time. Chopped to cover

Daniel: "Please god not another Super Over." Daniel presumably a NZ fan who knows his team's record in super overs.

18.3
1
Pramod Madushan to Mitchell, 1 run, another slower ball, length outside off, dragged powerfully but straight to deep midwicket.
18.2
2
Pramod Madushan to Mitchell, 2 runs, slower ball again, length, wide of off, and Mitchell has waited for it and bashed that straight of cover. It's traveled quickly, but Shanaka has sprinted around from long on to make the save.

New Zealand want a couple of boundaries here.

18.1
1
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, 1 run, slower one, fullish, on the stumps, Chapman tries to turn it to leg, but it goes off the leading edge towards cover

Jack: "Give Sri Lanka back the review - they clearly were questioning the wide!"

END OF OVER:
18 | 6 Runs | NZ: 166/3 (17 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.22, RRR: 8.50)

  • Mark Chapman7 (7b)
  • Daryl Mitchell11 (12b)
  • Kasun Rajitha4-0-34-0
  • Pramod Madushan3-0-31-1
17.6
1lb
Rajitha to Chapman, 1 leg bye, another slower ball on the stumps, and once again it's too good for the batter. Chapman tries to lift this over the legside as well, but misses and the best they can do is another legbye.
17.5
1
Rajitha to Mitchell, 1 run, slower ball on the stumps, Mitchell tries to swing this high over the legside and they scamper a leg bye. But Rajitha is wise to it and runs down the pitch on his follow through, and throws down the stumps with an under-arm flick. Chapman is in by a few inches though.
17.4
1
Rajitha to Chapman, 1 run, slower ball at the body, getting up to about groin height. Dragged to square leg.
17.3
0
Rajitha to Chapman, no run, yorker - wide ball down leg. Rajitha's bowled a few of these. But wait, Sri Lanka think there might be a nick on this. They've asked for a review. Perhaps more in hope than anything. No bat involved, says snicko, but it did flick the pad on the way through and it shouldn't be a wide. They've overturned the wide.
17.2
2
Rajitha to Chapman, 2 runs, slower ball again, and this is a length wide of off. Chapman reaches for it and hits it over cover. Long on runs around to field
17.1
1
Rajitha to Mitchell, 1 run, slower ball, on the stumps. Mitchell tries to launch that over deep midwicket, but doesn't time it. Goes on the bounce to the deep midwicket fielder

END OF OVER:
17 | 6 Runs 1 Wkt | NZ: 160/3 (23 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 9.41, RRR: 7.66)

  • Mark Chapman4 (3b)
  • Daryl Mitchell9 (10b)
  • Pramod Madushan3-0-31-1
  • Wanindu Hasaranga4-0-41-0
16.6
0
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, no run, fullish delivery, pitching outside off. Driven nicely, but straight to cover.
16.5
1
Pramod Madushan to Mitchell, 1 run, slower ball again, back of the hand, length outside off. Clubbed back down the ground from Mitchell.
16.4
0
Pramod Madushan to Mitchell, no run, slower ball, legcutter. Mitchell can't do much with it.
16.3
1lb
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, 1 leg bye, hits him on the helmet as he attempts to duck! This is a very good bouncer from Madushan, which just follows the batter. Chapman shapes to play it initially, but makes the late decision to get out of the way, and it hits him on the helmet before floating out towards square leg. The physio comes out to do the mandatory concussion test.
16.2
4
Pramod Madushan to Chapman, FOUR, full delivery, and Chapman nails a straight drive first up. He gets his leg out of the way and meets this with the full face of the bat, beating a diving mid off

New Zealand 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st53CJ BowesTL Seifert
2nd84TWM LathamTL Seifert
3rd17DJ MitchellTL Seifert
4th25DJ MitchellMS Chapman
5th1JDS NeeshamDJ Mitchell
6th0DJ MitchellR Ravindra
7th3AF MilneR Ravindra