Rain spoiled the party at Hambanthota today, as the first ODI in the Dialog Cup had to be abandoned without a result.
Sri Lanka had managed to set New Zealand a target of 289 after New Zealand captain Kyle Mills elected to field first after winning the toss, but the showers came down when New Zealand were just four overs into their reply.
Sri Lanka opted to go with Dimuth Karunaratne as the man to join TM Dilshan at the top of the order. He failed to make any use of the opportunity afforded him however, as Mills trapped him lbw in the first ball of the innings for a golden duck. It was up to the seniors to lay out a platform and Kumar Sangakkara and Dilshan duly obliged, putting up a stand of 137 runs. New Zealand’s attack seemed to have no ideas as to how to counter the vast experience opposing them, and seemed to be waiting for the pair to make a mistake. Sangakkara in particular cashed in on this as he hit an effortless 79 off 81 before being dismissed against the run of play. This is the sixth time Sangakkara has passed fifty in his last nine innings. His partner Dilshan struggled to find the same fluency, but he too managed to reach a half century.
New Zealand dismissed Mahela Jayawardena soon after claiming the wicket of Sangakkara, but Angelo Mathews joined Dilshan in a half century stand to provide Sri Lanka with the push they required. Dilshan was quite liberal with his trademark “dilscoop” in this innings, but it ultimately turned out to be his downfall, as he provided a simple catch to the wicket keeper on 81. Mathews played a good innings at the death, hitting an unbeaten 74 off 64 deliveries to ensure that Sri Lanka did not falter, and managed to push the team to 288. For New Zealand, captain Kyle Mills stood out with three wickets to his name while Anton Devcich was also very economical.
New Zealand suffered an early setback as Lasith Malinga yorked Devcich for a duck. The showers came down soon after however, and play was eventually called off without a result being possible.
Sri Lanka 288 for 9 (Dilshan 81, Sangakkara 79, Mathews 74*, Mills 3-49)
New Zealand 13/1 (4.2 overs)
