Auckland [New Zealand], January 11 : After registering a win in the last match of the ODI series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka skipper Charith Asalanka expressed his thoughts on the win where he went on to say that it is always great to make a comeback.
Exceptional performance from Sri Lanka bowlers Asitha Fernando, Maheesh Theekshana, and Eshan Malinga denied hosts New Zealand from registering a clean sweep as the Charith Asalanka-led side won the third and final match of the ODI series by 140 runs at Eden Park on Saturday.
"I think it's always great to make a comeback like this. Unfortunately, we lost the first two but the way the boys played today, it was a pleasure to watch and really good. Few more areas to work with fast bowlers...must give credit to the New Zealand bowlers; they put us under pressure, but we'll continue to improve. The hospitality was really nice, and we thank New Zealand for their support," Charith Asalanka said in the post-match presentation as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Recapping the third and final match of the ODI series at Auckland, Charith Asanka won the toss and elected to bat first.
Batting first, the Asian Lions scored 290 runs with the loss of eight wickets in their 50 overs. The scorers in the team were Pathum Nissanka (66 runs off 42 balls with six fours and five sixes), Kusal Mendis (54 runs from 48 balls, five fours and two sixes), Janith Liyange (53 runs in 52 balls with three fours and two sixes) and Kamindu Mendis (46 runs off 71 balls, three sixes and two fours).
For New Zealand, the pick of the bowler was Matt Henry who grabbed four wickets in his 10 overs where he gave away 55 runs in his spell. Two wickets were taken by Mitchell Santner and one wicket each was taken by Nathan Smith and Michael Bracewell in their respective spells.
In reply to Sri Lanka's total of 290 runs, New Zealand were bundled out for 150 in just 29.4 overs. The run-getters in this innings were Mark Chapman (81 runs off 81 balls, 10 fours and 1 six), Nathan Smith (17 runs from 29 balls, 1 four), Michael Bracewell (13 runs in 20 balls, 1 four and 1 six), Matt Henry (12 runs off 6 balls with 1 four and 1 six) and 21 extras (18 wides, 2 leg byes and 1 no ball) in the innings.
For Sri Lanka, three wickets each were snapped by Fernando (3/26 in 7 overs), Theekshana (3/35 in 7.4 overs), and Malinga (3/35 in 7 overs) in their respective spells. One wicket was bagged by Janith Liyange in his spell of three overs where he conceded 16 runs.
Despite this loss, the Blackcaps sealed the three-match ODI series 2-1. Asitha Fernando was awarded the Player of the Match for his brilliant bowling in the last match and Kiwis right-arm seamer Matt Henry was given the Player of the Series for his magnificent performance across the three matches of the series.