Sri Lanka succumb meekly

Daryl Mitchell notched up 43 off 31 balls

By Champika Fernando in Bengaluru

New Zealand performed the last rites on Sri Lanka’s disastrous 2023 World Cup campaign and nearly earned their place in the semi-finals following their crushing 5-wicket win with more than half the overs left here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

The defeat, Sri Lanka’s seventh in nine games, also put them out of the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan where only the top eight teams, including the World Cup host, will qualify. Sri Lanka currently sits at ninth place on the points table, ahead only of the Netherlands.

The latest defeat will add fuel to the current turmoil back at home where the calls are growing for the resignation of Sri Lanka Cricket officials over corruption and the national team’s poor performance.

While Sri Lanka’s parliament passed a resolution to remove the allegedly corrupt officials, including the chairman from Sri Lanka Cricket, Sri Lankan cricketers went down without a fight against the high-riding New Zealanders in India’s sixth largest state of Karnataka.

Chasing 171 to win, New Zealand reached the target in 23.2 overs in a hugely one-sided game.

Both openers Devon Conway (45) and Rachin Ravindra (42) after a solid opening stand returned to the dressing room within the space of seven balls, but their stand set the platform for their imposing victory in the match. The pair added 86 for the first wicket to perfectly place them for their fifth straight World Cup semi-final since 2007.

Angelo Mathews produced two wickets (2-29) and Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana claimed a wicket each to slow down their chase a bit, but with too little to defend, the writing was on the wall even before the Black Caps commenced the run chase.

Although there was a threat of rain interruption, it looked as if even the weather gods wanted New Zealand to reach the last four as there were no showers experienced right through the game. 

Chris Silverwood blamed inconsistent performance for the disastrous campaign; the worst since the 1996 World Cup win.

“I think we’ve played some good cricket along the way, and I think we’ll look back on certain games and rue missed opportunities, to be honest,’ said a visibly stunned Englishman. “There has been certain games during this campaign that if we’d have taken the opportunities that were put our way, this could have looked a lot different. But the fact is that we have been inconsistent and it’s something that we’ve been working on for a long time and something we need to continue working on”.

Sri Lanka deserved its defeat after an inexplicable batting collapse restricted them to a paltry 171 after New Zealand put them to bat first under terrific batting conditions.
At 128 -9 in the 33rd over, Sri Lanka were staring at a score of under 150 before tail-enders Maheesh Theekshana and Dilshan Madushanka showed grit and determination in a record 10th wicket stand to frustrate the New Zealanders and reach 171 in 46.4 overs. The pair batted for 14.5 overs, adding 43 runs between them, but the team’s final score was nothing short of paltry.

Sri Lanka’s innings had nothing but Kusal Perera’s quickfire half-century, and Theekshana and Madushanka’s brave innings to boast of. After being reprieved on naught by Tom Latham behind wicket off Tim Southee in the second over, Perera blasted off the fastest half-century in the tournament—a 22-ball 51 with nine boundaries and two sixes--before a moment of madness saw his dismissal.

On a flat track, it was a brutal hitting from the left-hander who showed a semblance of old self during his short stay in the middle. He hit a crisp drive off Lockie Ferguson to take him past Kusal Mendis’s 25-ball 50, but New Zealand tightened the grip on him, bowling at a good line and length.

This seemed to have frustrated him and, in an attempt to go big over leg-side, Perera hit straight up in the air where Mitchell Santner took a well-judged catch to send half the Sri Lankan batters back in the pavilion at the first powerplay (five wickets by the tenth over). This was the fastest 50 against New Zealand in a World Cup. The previous record was held by Canada’s John Davison, who had got it off 23 balls at Gros Islet in the 2007 edition.

The procession started with Pathum Nissanka edging to the wicket keeper, before skipper Kusal Mendis--as he has done too often in the tournament--presented his wickets on a platter to the New Zealanders. Mendis’s horror run after the first two games continued as he was caught out for six runs off Trent Boult. Mendis was looking to go hard over mid-wicket and ended up getting a leading edge which flew towards the third man, where Rachin Ravindra completed a diving catch. Sadeera Samarawickrema lasted just two balls as he offered a thick edge off Boult to Daryl Mitchell at first slip to leave Sri Lanka in a lot of trouble at 32 for 3.

A successful review by New Zealand had Charith Asalanka, the centurion in the previous match, trapped leg-before off Boult before Perera took the long walk back to the pavilion to leave Sri Lanka reeling at 74 for 5 in 10 overs.

Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva played tentatively and added 34 runs before Mathews edged Santner to Mitchell at first slip for 16 runs. De Silva followed suit in the same fashion, leaving Sri Lanka’s tail to fight against a disciplined bowling attack. Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera had little impact with the bat.

After their top and middle order had returned to the dressing room hurriedly, as if they were late to catch their flight home, Theekshana batted with intent and responsibility, guiding his fellow tail-enders.  He added 66 runs with the tail-enders including the innings best of 43 runs with Madushanka, who made 19 off 48 balls. Theekshana remained unbeaten 38 off 91 balls, his best ODI score. Madushanka made 19 off 48 balls.