Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand, 2023

NZ vs SL, 3rd T20I

Preview

Sri Lanka will lock horns with New Zealand for the final time on this tour. The two sides have been involved in 2 Tests, 3 ODIs and 2 T20Is so far and this is going to be the final T20 match between the sides. The match is scheduled at the John Davies Oval in Queenstown on Sunday, April 8.

The first T20I ended in a dramatic way with Sri Lanka winning the match in a Super Over thriller. The Lankan side posted 196 runs batting first with Charitha Asalanka scoring 67 runs off 41 balls to boost the total. The 2nd inning of the game was no less than a thriller. Daryl Mitchell scored 66 runs in 44 deliveries, the highest among the Kiwi side. Dasun Shanaka was handed over the ball in the last over to defend 13 runs. He bowled well in the first five deliveries giving away just 6 runs. Ish Sodhi stepped up to face the final ball and hit it for a stunning six hence extending the game to a super over thriller. 

In the Super over, New Zealand batters faced Thiksana in the first place and were restricted to 8 runs in the over losing two wickets. Sri Lanka, being in a hurry of finishing the game, smashed a sixer in the second ball after getting a single in the first ball. Without wasting time, Asalanka banged the third ball for a boundary, and the umpire called it a front foot no ball as well making the away side get a lead in the first match. 

The second T20I was a bit of a one-sided game for the home side as they managed a comfortable win by 9 wickets. Sri Lanka while batting first was bowled out for 141 runs in 19 overs all thanks to Adam Milne’s fifer. Later in the second innings of the game, opener Chad Bowes scored 31 runs off just 15 balls before giving away a catch to Wanindu Hasaranga in Kasun Rajitha’s over. Tim Siefert and skipper Tom Latham played unbeaten knocks of 79 and 20 runs respectively to get a comfortable victory with 5.2 overs to spare. 

Now the game, being tied at a score of 1-1 will be interesting in the final chapter of the series as both sides will be desperate to clinch a victory in this series. 

Match Details

Match: NZ vs SL, 3rd T20I, Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand, 2023

Date: Sunday, April 08, 2023

Time: 6:30 AM (Apr 08)

Venue: John Davies Oval, Queenstown

Pitch and Weather Report

The John Davies Oval in Queenstown is a venue that provides a lot of grips for the batters to score as many runs from their end. Yet, the bowling side might also have smooth gameplay on this ground. 

The temperature in Queenstown varies between 4 to 16 degrees Celsius with sunlight being consistent during the day. The precipitation rate is expected to be 10%, the humidity will be 60% and the wind speed will be 3 kmph. The weather predicted shows clean weather with warm sunlight throughout the day. 

NZ vs SL Squads

NZ: Chad Bowes, Tim Seifert, Tom Latham (c & wk), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister, Matt Henry, Will Young

SL: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nuwanidu Fernando, Dunith Wellalage, Matheesha Pathirana, Lasith Croospulle

NZ vs SL Probable Playing XIs

NZ: Chad Bowes, Tim Seifert, Tom Latham (c & wk), Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, James Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Adam Milne, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Ben Lister

SL: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dasun Shanaka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Dilshan Madushanka, Kasun Rajitha

Match Prediction

Sri Lanka have tried to put up a good fight against the home side in this tour. They lost the Tests and the ODIs as well but now they have a fair chance of winning the T20I series and finishing the tour on a positive note. The reigning Asian champions have that spirit in them specifically if their batting side fires. Except for their two lead spinner, their bowling is weak and might cost them the series. New Zealand would be in the seventh heaven after their blistering performance in the second game. They have a power-packed batting side and their pacers are also causing trouble for the Lankan batters. Hence we predict New Zealand as the favourite to win this match.

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