World Cup 2023: New Zealand Defeats Sri Lanka by 5 wickets

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on Thursday, New Zealand solidified their standing as the fourth-place team in the current 2023 World Cup by dismissing Sri Lanka with five wickets in the opening ODI.

New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by 5 wickets

With the help of an outstanding batting performance from players like Devon Conway (45), Daryl Mitchell (43), and Rachin Ravindra (42), New Zealand managed to reach 172/5 in 23.2 overs while chasing 172. For Sri Lanka, Angelo Mathews claimed two wickets in the interim.

Kane Williamson, the captain of New Zealand, initially won the toss and decided to bowl first. Since then, New Zealand has dominated the Sri Lankan top five thanks to the fast bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee, along with a little assistance from Lockie Ferguson.

Despite Kusal Perera's impressive ball-smacking to get Sri Lanka off to a fast start, they lost four wickets in the first ten overs, including Perera. Because of everything said above, Sri Lanka was reduced to just three wickets in their first 20 overs.

Nonetheless, Mahesh Theekshana took the lead in preventing the New Zealand bowlers from getting ahead and making sure that the Sri Lankan tail survived until the 40th over, even if he didn't score many runs. Eventually, after 171 runs, they were all out. Theekshana and Madushanka's final wicket partnership yielded the highest number of runs for Sri Lanka—43 in 87 balls.

Match Highlights

• After winning the toss, New Zealand elected to bowl first.
• Despite their fast start, Sri Lanka lost four wickets in the first ten overs, which put an end to their momentum.
• They lost further wickets in the following ten overs, and with over forty overs left, they were down to their final two.
• Theekshana, though, spearheaded a late-inning push that carried Sri Lanka to the 47th over.
• Sri Lanka was eliminated for 171 runs.
• In just 12.2 overs, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra scored 86 runs to establish a commanding first-hand partnership for New Zealand.
• Dushmantha Chameera eliminated Rachin Ravindra (42) and Devon Conway (45).
• 43-year-old Dale Mitchell loses out on a half-century.
• After chasing 172, New Zealand reached 172/5 in 23.2 overs. With a five-wicket victory.

SQUAD

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (c), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tom Latham (wk), Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (c) (wk), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Kasun Rajitha, Dilshan Madushanka