There was some early help for pacers due to overcast weather, and the pacer ensured exploiting it straightaway and provided an ideal start to his team.
A released Mumbai Indians (MI) pacer bowled a cracking yorker on the first delivery of the game to leave the batter befuddled, for it was unplayable. The batter probably didn’t expect a ball straight into the blockhole and was undone before he could get his eye in.
Nuwan Thushara bowled a magnificent inswinging yorker to Tim Robinson on the first ball of the innings, to which the batter had no response. It was on the middle stump and curled in sharply, and the batter couldn’t bring his bat down in time.
The ball went on to hit the base of the off-pole, and the batter helplessly stood there, for he couldn’t have done much on that delivery. His high backlift meant the ball had disturbed the timber, and he was in no position to keep it out, even though he should have been prepared for it.
Thushara often bowls these fuller-length deliveries early on and has the ability to swing the new ball both ways, so he targets the stump line. There was some early help for pacers due to overcast weather, and Thushara ensured exploiting it straightaway and provided an ideal start to his team.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka opted to field first to extract anything in the air or off the deck early on since it had rained just before the toss. Their bowlers exploited the conditions and provided precisely the start they were looking for early on.
Nuwan Thushara removed Tim Robinson and Mark Chapman within the first seven balls of his spell before Wanindu Hasaranga wreaked havoc. Hasaranga snared as many as four wickets in the first three overs of his spell, for the Kiwi batters had no response to his variations.
They kept falling like a pack of cards. New Zealand lost six wickets in just 11 overs after batting first. If Thushara found movement early on, Hasaranga’s variations had enough bite off the surface.
Overall, New Zealand would be massively disappointed with their batting effort in this must-win game. The lower-order batters need to score as much as possible and take them to a competitive total.
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