The Kiwis draw first blood

Photo: The Newstribe

New Zealand established their first win in the opening encounter of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 as they beat Sri Lanka by a margin of 98 runs. It was just the perfect kind of start for the co-hosts as they notched up the win quite comfortably.

Sri Lanka won the toss and put the Kiwis into bat. But that decision somewhat backfired as New Zealand put up a massive total of 331-6 in 50 overs. Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson made merry in the middle as the Sri Lankans failed to maintain discipline with the ball. While McCullum scored 65 off just 49 balls, Anderson needed just 46 deliveries to get to 75. Martin Guptill played a steady innings as an opener but got out on 49. Kane Williamson scored a solid 57 in the middle that held the Kiwi innings together. Luke Ronchi came on later on to pile on the agony for the Lankans scoring 29 off just 19 balls. Sri Lanka’s bowling was wayward right from the beginning. Lasith Malinga, coming on after a long break due to injury, gave away 84 runs in 10 overs. Kulasekara was too expensive as well. Jeevan Mendis picked up a couple of wickets in his 2 overs and gave away just 5 runs, turning out to be Sri Lanka’s best bowler for the day.

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Sri Lanka made a good start with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne but never looked like chasing down the target. Dilshan looked out of sorts as he scored just 24 from the 41 balls that he faced. Kumar Sangakkara and Thirimanne then tried to take the attack to the opponent’s camp but the fall of Thirimanne (64) at a crucial juncture denied them that opportunity. 3 quick wickets followed in the form of Jayawardene, Sangakkara and Karunaratne and the defeat wasn’t too far away for Sri Lanka. Angelo Matthews delayed the inevitable with an inning of 46 runs as the Kiwis wrapped up the rest of the Lankan innings in style. All the bowlers except Grant Elliot and Kane Williamson got two wickets each.

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Corey Anderson got the man of the match award for his all round performance. It was his innings of 75 runs that enabled New Zealand to get to such a total and 2-18 with the ball in hand that helped the Kiwis to finish off the match quickly. It was a great win for New Zealand to start the tournament. The Sri Lankans might have had a bad day in the middle but let just not write off their chances in this edition for they have a great team and can surprise us all.

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About Argha Ghosh

An ardent follower of sports and die-hard Manchester United fan, Argha's ultimate dream is to watch a Manchester derby from the Stretford End at the Old Trafford.