Brendon McCullum launched his farewell tour in rollicking form yesterday with a whirlwind 55 to set up New Zealand’s seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in their opening one-day international in Christchurch.
In a 25-ball stay at the crease, McCullum smacked 11 fours and one six to have Sri Lanka on the ropes before he departed with New Zealand only needing a further 81 runs from 40 overs.
Martin Guptill posted his 26th half-century on his way to 79 off 56 deliveries, while debutant Henry Nicholls was not out on 23 when the innings ended at the end of the 20th over.
Photo: AFP
New Zealand were set a modest 189-run target after Matt Henry destroyed the cream of the Sri Lanka top order in a brief spell of 16 deliveries when he took four wickets for two runs. Sri Lanka were eventually all out for 188 in 47 overs on a wicket that promised runs galore, and New Zealand knocked off the target with ease.
McCullum credited the quickfire victory to what he described as “a truly outstanding bowling performance” by Adam Milne and Matt Henry.
“With the new ball in their bands, they were outstanding for us and that’s where the winning of the game was when you’re needing to chase 190 and know the wicket is going to be good,” he said.
Photo: AFP
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews regretted that his bowlers were not as threatening.
“It’s not easy to bowl at Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill,” he said. “They are power hitters and they go after the bowling from the very beginning. We just need to bowl in the right areas more often.”
The big-hitting McCullum, who announced before the five-match ODI series began that he will retire from international cricket in February, lived up to his pledge to bow out on top of his game.
His swift opening partnership with Guptill brought up the New Zealand 100 inside 10 overs. When New Zealand reached 53 without loss after six overs, Mathews put himself on to try to arrest the run onslaught. McCullum had other ideas and took 16 off Mathews’ over and 12 off Ajantha Mendis in the next to put Sri Lanka out of the game.
Mathews said when he won the toss he wanted to bat to get first use of a pitch that “looks like a belter.”
However, the wickets started falling early with a 98-run stand by Milinda Siriwardana and Nuwan Kulasekara for the seventh wicket their one partnership of note.
They fell from 13-0 to 27-5 and then 65-6 before Siriwardana (66) and Kulasekara (58) got set.
Siriwardana’s dismissal started the final slide in which the last four wickets fell for 25 runs. Dushmantha Chameera, who was not out 13, was the only other batsman to reach double figures.
Milne, having fully recovered from a heel injury that sidelined him in the World Cup tied the batsman down at one end, while Henry did the damage at the other.
Inside three overs, Henry removed Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne, Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal. Dilshan (9) top-edged the ball to midwicket, where Nicholls celebrated his international debut with a catch above the head, Thirimanne faced 19 balls for one run and Mathews was dismissed first ball.
Chandimal was dropped on five off Milne’s bowling, but Henry claimed the wicket four deliveries later to finish with 4-49.
Doug Bracewell took 3-37.
BOUNCE BACK: Curry scored 46 points in the Warriors’ victory over the Spurs, after ‘everybody stepped up’ following Tuesday’s blowout loss to Oklahoma City Nikola Jokic scoring 50 or more points had never been enough for the Denver Nuggets to win — until now. Jokic on Wednesday night tied the highest-scoring performance in the NBA this season with 55 points, as the Nuggets beat the Los Angeles Clippers 130-116 for their sixth straight victory. The Nuggets were 0-4 in his previous 50-point outbursts. “It’s a good feeling,” the three-time NBA Most Valuable Player said. He equaled Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 55 in a double-overtime game at the Indiana Pacers on Oct. 23. Jokic has been on a roll during Denver’s winning streak. He is the
TIGHT GAME: The Detroit Pistons, the NBA’s second-best team, barely outlasted the Washington Wizards, who fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss Cade Cunningham’s triple double, Daniss Jenkins’ three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green’s overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons’ win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA’s second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. “We knew how big this game was for us,” Jenkins said. “We wasn’t going to let nothing stop us from getting this W.” Cunningham made 14-of-45 shots and 16-of-18 free throws for a career-high 46 points, and added 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and two
The tri-nation Twenty20 international series featuring hosts Pakistan, as well as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, is to be played entirely in Rawalpindi from Tuesday next week, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday, after this week’s suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad. The change came after at least eight Sri Lankan players asked to leave over security fears following Tuesday’s bombing that killed 12 people and wounded 27. Their country’s cricket board issued a stern directive to the team to stay put or face consequences. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said the decision to stay was taken after “close consultations” with hosts Pakistan who
Italian champions SSC Napoli on Sunday came unstuck at Bologna, losing 2-0 to cede the Italian Serie A summit to Inter, who downed SS Lazio by the same scoreline. AS Roma, who beat Udinese 2-0 earlier, briefly held the summit, only for Inter to dislodge them on goal difference. With the game just three minutes old, Lautaro Martinez put Inter in control with Ange-Yoan Bonny doubling the lead on the hour with a shot from close range. Goals in the capital either side of the break by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Zeki Celik sent Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma temporarily to the
RSS