Sri Lanka 3-200 (Tillakaratne Dilshan 102*, Angelo Mathews 54*, Nathan McCullum 1-28) beat New Zealand 6-188 (BJ Watling 96*, James Franklin 26, Jeevan Mendis 2-34) by seven wickets.
Tillakaratne Dilshan thrashed his maiden ODI ton against New Zealand and with the assistance of Angelo Mathews guided Sri Lanka to a comfortable victory.
New Zealand managed 188 runs for the loss of six wickets in 33 overs as rain once again interrupted the game. Sri Lanka got a revised target of 197 from 33 overs as per Duckworth/Lewis method and they achieved the target by smashing 200 runs with 11 balls to spare.
Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his commendable unbeaten knock of 102 off 95 mere balls.
The third One Day International of the five match series was played on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Mahela Jayawardene, the captain of the Lankan Lions, won the toss and put the Black Caps in to bat first. The decision paid off as the visitors were one wicket down for just nine runs in 2.5 overs as Brendon McCullum associated with BJ Watling. The batsmen found it difficult to score the runs freely and reached 22 at the end of the seventh over. The first four of the innings was witnessed in the next over and the play was stopped because of rain after the 9th over.
Watling was dropped on the second ball of the 11th over for eight runs by Angelo Mathews at his own bowling but Brendon McCullum was gone on the next delivery for 13. Watling stood firm at his end as the middle order batting of the Kiwis collapsed and they were struggling at 4-49 in 16.3 overs as James Franklin came in the park. BJ Watling once again got a life in the 22nd over at 28 as Franklin hit a couple of fours in the same over.
The first hundred of the innings was attained in the 24th over and Franklin was clean bowled by Nuwan Kulasekara for 26. Watling got his 4th ODI fifty in the 27th over as Nathan McCullum provided him with support at the other end. Watling took command of the game and sent the ball reeling out of the fence at least eight times in the following overs and McCullum added two sixes as well. BJ Watling secured his wicket at 96 off 88 balls with 12 fours and Nathan McCullum was at the other end with 22. New Zealand reached 188 with four wickets in hand after consuming the available 33 overs.
Jeevan Mendis was the most successful bowler with two wickets whereas Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara and Angelo Mathews claimed one wicket each.
Sri Lanka was handed over a modified target of 197 from maximum 33 overs according to the Duckworth/Lewis method. Upul Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan initiated the innings nicely and accumulated 30 runs in 4.5 overs when the first lost his wicket for 10 runs. Dilshan got 2 fours in the sixth over as the new batsman, Kumar Sangakkara crept to 15 in 27 balls without a boundary when he was caught by Ross Taylor off Kyle Mills.
Mahela Jayawardene went out cheaply for just five runs as the Islanders scored 73 in 14.5 overs. The all rounder, Angelo Mathews, joined in next with Dilshan, they started the consolidation process and the hundred of the innings was displayed on board in the 20th over. The home side required 75 runs from the last 60 balls when both batsmen geared up and got 5 fours in the next four overs.
Dilshan was dropped at 73 by Rob Nicol at backward point off Tim Southee on the fifth ball of the 27th over and the batsman never looked back after that. Mathews completed his 12th ODI fifty on the first delivery off the 31st over and Dilshan hammered his maiden ODI century against New Zealand in style with a six on the fifth ball.
Angelo Mathews hit the winning four on the first ball of the next over as the score touched 200 . Tillakaratne Dilshan kept his crease occupied for 102 off 95 with 1 six and 12 fours and Angelo Mathews was unbeaten for 54 from 47 balls with 7 fours.
Kyle Mills, Tim Southee and Nathan McCullum were the only wicket taking bowlers with one each.
Sri Lanka won the exciting match with a big margin of seven wickets in the end and leads the five match series 2-0. The fourth game will be played on November 10, 2012, at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Sooriyawewa, Hambantota.
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