Clinical New Zealand clinch T20I series

New Zealand went up 2-0 against Sri Lanka to clinch the three-match T20I series with a match to spare in Mount Maunganui yesterday. Starring for the hosts was pacer Jacob Duffy, who struck at regular intervals to completely derail the chase, leaving Sri Lanka 45 short in the chase of 186.
Being put in to bat, New Zealand lost Rachin Ravindra in only the third over but both Tim Robinson and Mark Chapman kept up the attack. Their 69-run stand off 47 balls built up a good base for New Zealand in the first half of the innings.
Both batters got the early boundaries when Maheesh Theekshana erred in lengths inside the powerplay with Chapman even surviving an lbw review in the 
same over. 
Robinson slog-swept Wanindu Hasaranga for a six before being done in by the googly in the same over. It resulted in a couple of quiet overs before Glenn Phillips got going with back-to-back boundaries against Pathirana.
The innings got a big fillip in the final three overs where Mitchell Hay went berserk. Theekshana was taken for 17 runs in the penultimate over with Hay smacking a couple of sixes followed by two boundaries in the final over from Binura Fernando. The 34 runs in that last two effectively put Sri Lanka on the backfoot straightway.
They, however, started on a good note. The top order gave them a good base to mount a challenge but the lower-order fell away like ninepins as Jacon Duffy finished with a four-wicket haul. It was Mitchell Santner who gave the hosts a breakthrough after the openers had been going steadily at eight an over for the first four overs of the innings. 
Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka steadied the ship allowing for a breather. But New Zealand were able to strike at regular intervals even then with Bracewell accounting for Kamindu soon after. Kusal and Charith Asalanka put on some quick runs before the innings went downhill in the final five overs.