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.
RAS Lakmal c Guptill b McClenaghan 3 (7m 5b 0x4 0x6) 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."
END OF OVER:40 | 1 Run | SL: 192/9 (124 runs required from 60 balls, RR: 4.80, RRR: 12.40)
- Rangana Herath1 (5b)
- Suranga Lakmal1 (2b)
- Kyle Mills6-0-29-0
- Mitchell McClenaghan4-1-26-1
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. "
DanielAlexander: "Run-out is my man-of-the-series"
And after that wonderful fielding effort before, Mills has been handed the ball to try and finish this off
END OF OVER:39 | (wicket maiden) | SL: 191/9 (125 runs required from 11 overs, RR: 4.89, RRR: 11.36)
- Rangana Herath1 (1b)
- Mitchell McClenaghan4-1-26-1
- Trent Boult8-2-31-1
Lakmal will indeed bat then. Brave stuff from him as he has a groin injury to contend with as well
KTGD Prasad run out 2 (21m 13b 0x4 0x6) SR: 15.38
Fat Lady: "You rang? I was thinking about doing Danny Boy in honor of the man of the day."
Brendon looking to mix it up as McClenaghan comes on to bowl
END OF OVER:38 | 10 Runs 1 Wkt | SL: 191/8 (125 runs required from 12 overs, RR: 5.02, RRR: 10.41)
- Dhammika Prasad2 (7b)
- Rangana Herath1 (1b)
- Trent Boult8-2-31-1
- Corey Anderson10-0-52-4
shihan: "That awkward moment when Prasad's batting avg higher than Mendis :)"
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.
KC Sangakkara c Vettori b Boult 81 (106m 66b 7x4 2x6) 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."
END OF OVER:37 | 7 Runs | SL: 181/7 (135 runs required from 13 overs, RR: 4.89, RRR: 10.38)
- Dhammika Prasad1 (6b)
- Kumar Sangakkara73 (62b)
- Corey Anderson10-0-52-4
- Trent Boult7-2-21-0
Kumar: "Nate don't forget the good start by the openers also contributed to some wickets."
