Auckland [New Zealand], January 11 : Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando delivered a stellar performance in the final ODI against New Zealand, earning him the "Player of the Match" award. Fernando's figures of 3/26 in seven overs played a crucial role in Sri Lanka's victory in Auckland on Saturday.
Reflecting on his performance, Fernando said, "It's a huge confidence boost for me and the team because we haven't had a good first two games, but it feels good to play in this way. We identified a few areas to be improved, and we'll work on those areas," as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
While Sri Lanka managed to secure a win in the final match, the series belonged to New Zealand, who emerged victorious with a 2-1 margin. Despite falling short in the series, Sri Lanka's strong finish provides momentum as they look to build on this performance in their upcoming fixtures.
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.