Sri Lanka caved in like nine pins on yet another occasion all out for 102 in 19.2 overs chasing New Zealand’s 167 in their Super 12 match of the T20 Cricket World Cup in Sydney yesterday.
In hindsight it probably took one man to decide the result and the honours fell on New Zealand middle order batsman Glenn Phillips, another unknown commodity as far as the Sri Lankans were concerned, as he smashed 104 to set the course after the Kiwis won the toss and batted first.
Phillips played the shots New Zealand wanted after they lost three wickets for 15 runs and managed just 24 runs in the crucial first-six power-play overs.
But he also may have had one opponent to thank in Pathum Nissanka Silva who could not hold on to a simple catch at long-off with his score on 12 with Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva being the bowler.
It was like rubbing salt into the wound of Hasaranga who three days ago was smashed by New Zealand’s neighbour Australia for 53 runs in three overs. Eventually New Zealand plundered 65 runs in the last five overs which was their margin of victory.
Phillips could toast his own luck by hammering four sixes to go with his 10 fours as he made his 104 in just 64 balls. He suffered some cramps while fielding in the Sri Lanka innings, but the damage he did to the Sri Lanka team was much more than they could endure.
If the peppering that New Zealand inflicted on the Sri Lankan bowlers was not enough, they took the challenge into extremes and kept bowling out their opponents one by one like dismantling a wall brick by brick.
It marked the first time that New Zealand was able to bowl out a side on two successive occasions after bundling out Australia in their first match as their unassuming fast bowler Tim Southee struck the first blow in the sixth ball of the first over trapping leg-before a nervous Pathum Nissanka for a duck.
But it was fellow fast bowler Trent Boult who scattered the Sri Lankan batters all over the place as the Kiwis wrapped up the match as early as in the sixth over by claiming four wickets for eight runs.
After Southee’s initial blow, Boult claimed the rest of the Sri Lankan top four batters who were among the runs as he bagged Kusal Mendis (4) caught behind, Dhananjaya de Silva bowled for a duck and Charith Asalanka (4) caught in the covers.
Boult’s figures of 4 for 13 was his best in T20 Internationals and the win was so easy for the Kiwis that they were able to get away bowling wide-balls which never mattered.
But questions will have to be asked in the Sri Lankan camp on the current form of the rest of the batters Bhanuka Rajapakse and Dasun Shanaka and allrounders Chamika Karunaratne and Wanindu Hasaranga who have failed to make any impact with their blades.