NZ vs SL, 1st ODI: New Zealand 274 (Allen 51, Ravindra 49, Mitchell 47, Karunaratne 4-43, Rajitha 2-38, Kumara 2-46) beat Sri Lanka 76 (Shipley 5-31, Mitchell 2-12, Tickner 2-20) by 198 runs

Henry Shipley destroyed Sri Lanka’s top order, scoring 5 for 31, and the team’s chase for 275 runs ended at 76 all out. Sri Lanka succumbed meekly to the bounce that Shipley, Blair Tickner, and even Daryl Mitchell generated on an Eden Park surface with a lot of carry after New Zealand had struggled to 274 all out, with Finn Allen scoring the highest on their scorecard with a score of 51.

Some Sri Lanka players tumbled to the short ball, which New Zealand’s hitters had additionally attempted to battle with in their innings. Others were dismissed by seamed full deliveries. The entire, sorry collapse was sparked by the run-out of opener Nuwanidu Fernando, who had charged most of the way down the field for a third despite his partner’s lack of interest.

Only three Sri Lankan batters scored twice or more; Angelo Mathews’s 18 was their highest individual score

Shipley, a tall bowler with a very high release point and a braced front leg in his delivery stride, not only produced awkward bounce on a helpful pitch but was also good when he pitched the ball up. He bowled Pathum Nissanka through the gate after jabbing the ball into the batter off the seam, which may have been his best delivery. He also had Dasun Shanaka deliver a fuller pitch to the slips later.

However, Charith Asalanka nicked a wideish short delivery to the keeper, Kusal Mendis was rushed into a pull and sent the ball to the fine-leg fielder, and Chamika Karunaratne holed out late in the game trying to bludgeon a pull. His three other wickets came from the short ball. In only his fourth ODI, Shipley made his first five-for international appearance. In point of fact, prior to this, he had only recorded three five-fors in both first-class and List A cricket.

Tickner and Mitchell each took two wickets, and Matt Henry was unfortunate not to get out because of how good his bowling was and how quickly Sri Lanka’s batsmen seemed to lose wickets. In the 20th over, Sri Lanka lost all their wickets. This was their fifth-lowest total ever and their lowest against New Zealand.

Mitchell had also played a role, scoring 47 runs to help New Zealand advance through the middle overs. However, Allen’s 51 at the top of the innings had given the hosts a boost. At first, he was successful against the seamers’ fuller deliveries, but then he hammered Wanindu Hasaranga’s leg spin for six runs.

Despite the loss of wickets at the other end, debutant Rachin Ravindra kept New Zealand alive in the final overs with an innings of 49 off 52 that was perhaps the most significant of the match. With the score at 152 for 5 in the 30th over, he and Glenn Phillips came together to make the only half-century stand in the game, scoring 66 runs off 59 balls.

Ravindra continued to meticulously accumulate in the company of the tail after Phillips was dismissed while trying to knock Dilshan Madushanka over the square-leg boundary. Before he himself holed out, he hit four fours and a six, a common dismissal for New Zealand batsmen who kept trying to clear the short straight boundary but were forced to do so against shorter lengths, which Sri Lanka’s bowlers used a lot. The final three deliveries of New Zealand’s innings went unplayed.

With the bat, Sri Lanka displayed little spine, but with the ball and field, they were spunky. Chamika Karunaratne depended on shy-of-a-length conveyances to bring him professional best figures of 4 for 43 from his nine overs. Kasun Rajitha took two wickets as well as Lahiru Kumara rapid and intense 2 for 46. Additionally, Sri Lanka grabbed any fish that came their way.

Sri Lanka’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup this year seem slim following this defeat. Sri Lanka is currently unable to reach 98 Super League points even with two wins against New Zealand if South Africa or Ireland win their remaining three games against the Netherlands and South Africa wins their two matches against the Netherlands.