NZ vs SL, 3rd T20I: New Zealand 183 for 6 (Seifert 88, Latham 31, Kumara 3-31) beat Sri Lanka 182 for 6 (Mendis 73, Perera 33, Lister 2-37) by four wickets

New Zealand prevailed by four wickets in the third and final T20I in Queenstown, securing a 2-1 series victory, despite Sri Lanka’s death bowling almost pulling it back from the brink.

Tim Seifert’s 48-ball 88 anchored a successful chase of 183, surpassing Kusal Mendis’ 73 off 43 earlier in the day. However, Seifert might not have anticipated how tense the finish would be when he was dismissed with his team needing just 29 from 23 deliveries with seven wickets remaining.

Only 19 runs would be scored in overs 17 to 19, leaving the hosts needing ten runs to win the final over. A six off the main conveyance appeared to have settled matters however Sri Lanka would land a group full go-around off the following three balls, with Lahiru Kumara getting two wickets and affecting a run out.

They could have made it four from four as well, but Kumara missed a similar run-out opportunity, giving New Zealand a bye to the goalkeeper. After that, a ball later, Rachin Ravindra hit the winning runs, bringing a collective sigh of relief to New Zealand. It’s a disappointing way to end a difficult tour for Sri Lanka.

The turning point: Henry makes amends

Although Matt Henry’s three-run final over appeared to be crucial even in the moment, hindsight is often 20/20. Sri Lanka had scored 56 runs in the previous five overs, and with five wickets in hand and Wanindu Hasaranga and Charith Asalanka at the crease, both of whom were capable of easily clearing the ropes, Sri Lanka would have been aiming for a total close to 200. To limit the over to singles, Henry, on the other hand, varied his pace and kept it wide and full. Henry was wicketless for 32 of his previous three overs, but he came through strongly at the end to help New Zealand win with just one ball remaining.

Tim Seifert breaks open the chase

Although Chad Bowes’s dismissal in the first over may have hurt morale and momentum, Seifert’s ability to score a boundary in nearly every over up until the 17th, when he was run out, was what ultimately cost Sri Lanka the game. His organizations of 53 and 84 with Bowes and Tom Latham additionally guaranteed that even the turbulent loss of wickets toward the end wouldn’t wreck his side’s pursuit. Seifert struck at over 170 against nearly every Sri Lankan bowler, with the exception of the always excellent Maheesh Theekshana, who maintained an economy rate of 5.50. Hasaranga ended a poor tour by his standards with a wicketless four overs for 41. Seifert struck at over 170 against all of them.

Mendis (and Sri Lanka) ride their luck

Mendis and Pathum Nissanka’s 76-run opening stand gave Sri Lanka their best start of the series. Mendis would go on to score the most runs in a destructive innings with six fours and five sixes but also a fair amount of luck. While two or three confused hits fell barely far away from onrushing defenders, it was him being dropped at first sneak past Daryll Mitchell that truly caused a commotion.

Later on, Ravindra running along the deep-third boundary would grant Mendis a second reprieve. Even with the help of super slow-motion, a frame’s evidence might have been sufficient to support the on-field decision of out, as Kusal Perera would be superbly caught on the boundary line and Mitchell would miss the opportunity to release the ball before tripping over the ropes.

New Zealand make their own luck

New Zealand certainly contributed to repairing as much of the damage as Sri Lanka’s innings was helped along by uncharacteristic fielding errors. The tone was set by James Neesham’s excellent deep take to end Nissanka’s game, which was followed by Adam Milne’s incredible direct hit to end Perera’s game from deep. Dasun Shanaka, who had looked hazardous striking two limits off his initial five deliveries, saw Bowes clutch an interesting skier, before Asalanka was run out by the politeness of another firearm toss from the limit. Henry’s decisive final over included that final one.

NZ vs Sl, 2nd T20I: New Zealand 146 for 1 (Seifert 79*, Bowes 31, Rajitha 1-25) beat Sri Lanka (De Silva 37, Milne 5-26, Lister 2-26) by nine wickets

Adam Milne took five wickets as New Zealand’s seamers stopped Sri Lanka from scoring, and Tim Seifert, who hit 79 not out off 43 balls, helped New Zealand reach their modest target of 142. New Zealand won the series in a game that was mostly extremely one-sided after the Super Over thriller in Auckland.

After being put into bat, Sri Lanka had competed in the early stages, reaching 89 for 2 in eleven overs. However, the innings began to slide after the close dismissals of Kusal Perera and Dhananjaya de Silva, who were the set batters. After 19 overs, they were all out for 141, and they appeared to be on track to reach 180 at one point.

Chad Bowes was the first to help New Zealand set off quickly. With only nine wickets remaining and 32 deliveries, they reduced the total.

The turning point: Perera and de Silva fall in quick succession

When Perera and de Silva batted, they made 62 off 46 balls, and Sri Lanka appeared to be heading for another big score. Charith Asalanka, who was playing well, came in next, followed by Dasun Shanaka and Wanindu Hasaranga, both of whom hit a lot.

After hitting a slower Milne ball straight to deep midwicket, Perera fell for 35 off 32, and de Silva also holed out in the next over, hitting Rachin Ravindra to long off, having scored 37 off 26.

Sri Lanka’s middle order unravels

The remaining batters attempted to break boundaries and also fell. Shanaka skied hard in an effort to push Henry Shipley over the line; After making 24 from 19 shots, Asalanka top-edged a cutter from Milne and Hasaranga couldn’t quite hit a leg cutter from James Neesham over mid-off.

In total, Sri Lanka has lost eight wickets for 50 runs since the 12th over in 47 balls, with the tail also falling meekly.

Milne’s triple-wicket over

In the 19th over, Asalanka was only the first of Milne’s victims. Milne bowled a fantastic yorker two balls later that bounced off Pramod Madushan’s pads and into the stumps. The yorker to Dilshan Madushanka was considerably more great, taking out center and off stump, to end Sri Lanka’s innings. In his four overs, Milne was 5 for 26. Ben Lister went two-for-sixty.

The Tim Seifert show

Despite the fact that 142 never appeared to be a target that would test New Zealand, Seifert’s spectacular hitting made particularly light work of it. In his first 16 balls, Bowes hit seven fours, so he didn’t hit many strikes. After Bowes’ takeoff in the fourth over, Seifert assumed command, first smacking Madushan through point, prior to sending off Kasun Rajitha for two sixes over lengthy on in the 6th over.

Seifert continued to deal sixes, frequently hitting the wind to clear the University Oval’s narrow boundaries. He trudge cleared both Hasaranga and de Silva for sixes – the first over midwicket, the second over a deep square leg. Later, he reverse-punched de Silva twice for six runs, one of which resulted in the winning runs. In all, Seifert made three fours and six sixes.

Tom Latham, who was his partner in a 106-run partnership that came off 68 balls, played second fiddle, scoring 20 runs out of 30 balls to help the team win comfortably.