Kiwis & Sri Lanka suffer washout-5th ODI,Srilanka VS Newzealand

One-day international, Hamilton: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
No result - match abandoned due to rain
New Zealand and Sri Lanka had to settle for a 2-2 draw in their one-day series after the deciding game in Hamilton was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Home skipper Stephen Fleming won the toss and put Sri Lanka in but rain then arrived to prevent any play.

The game will be recognised, however, as Sri Lankan Sanath Jayasuriya's world record 375th one-day appearance, one more than India's Sachin Tendulkar.

And it will also count as the 100th of umpire Billy Bowden.

New Zealand now head for Australia where they will take part in a triangular series, also involving England, while Sri Lanka will play four games in India next month.

Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody was satisfied with his team's campaign, which saw them come from behind to level both the Test and one-day series - and claim a 1-1 draw in the Twenty20 games.

"We've had a challenging series, we've enjoyed every bit of it and we can walk away with our heads held high," he said.

"It was nice in the Test series to bounce back after losing the first game, which is always a tough thing to do, the guys showed some character there.

"The one-day series has been a bit of a mixed bag, we played some good cricket and also some poor cricket.

"Overall I'm pleased, it would have been nice to have played this fifth game as I felt we were building some momentum, and New Zealand were not really hitting their straps.

"Traditionally, away from home a lot of sub-continent teams struggle in places like New Zealand and England but this team is starting to turn the corner with regards to touring, a lot of it is down to self belief."

New Zealand seamer James Franklin has been troubled by an injury to his left knee and admitted that surgery may be required.

"At some stage it's probably going to be needed but I saw the specialist and we're confident I should be able to get through the summer," he said.

"It's not a bad result, both sides are pretty even, there was a lot of up and down cricket from both teams and a draw in all three series is fair."

Kiwis can bounce back - Fleming

Fifth one-day international, Hamilton: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Match starts 0100 GMT Tuesday
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming feels his team can avenge their record one-day defeat in Tuesday's deciding match of the series against Sri Lanka.

Having won two games in succession, the Kiwis were routed for 73 - their second lowest total ever - in Auckland.

The 189-run margin of defeat was the highest in their one-day history as Sri Lanka squared the series 2-2.

Fleming said: "It was an awful performance but we have got to get it right in the final match."

New Zealand have been struggling in the batting department since winning the first match and Fleming, who only returned for the last game, could fair no better, as he was out for a duck.

"we had a bad one but the series is still 2-2 and there for the taking"

Batsman Hamish Marshall

He said New Zealand were considering re-jigging the line-up so he may drop down from the top of the order with Nathan Astle, who returns after missing the last match, opening the batting.

"We've been searching for some time to get the batting right and put a complete performance together," said Fleming.

"You've got to respect the fundamentals of batting. I think a little bit of anxienty and pressure is creating technical problems at the top.

"We've got to make sure mentally we are right, and then allow the opportunity to be skilfull enough to get the runs on the board."

Spinner Daniel Vettori (virus) and James Franklin (knee) were able to train on Monday and could return for the crucial game after missing the last match.

Batsman Hamish Marshall believes New Zealand have the chance to quickly make amends after their horror show in Auckland.

"It was one of those days where we had a bad one but the series is still 2-2 and there for the taking," he said.

"Tuesday is now a final situation and we've got to get out there and show a bit of character. We'd like to head to Australia [for the triangular Commonwealth Bank Series] with a series win."

Scorecard-4th ODI b/w Sril vs Nz

06-01-2007 at Auckland
Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 189 runs
Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat
Sri Lanka Innings
262 for 6 (50.0 overs)
New Zealand Innings
73 all out (26.3 overs)



Umpires: G A Baxter, S J Davis
New Zealand: B B McCullum, S P Fleming, P G Fulton, M R Gillespie, C D McMillan, H J H Marshall, M J Mason, A R Adams, R L Taylor, J S Patel, S E Bond
Sri Lanka: W U Tharanga, S T Jayasuriya, C K Kapugedera, D P M D Jayawardene, M S Atapattu, K C Sangakkara, C R D Fernando, M F Maharoof, M Muralitharan, W P U J C Vaas, S L Malinga

New Zealand trounced in Auckland by Srilanka

Fourth one-day international, Auckland: New Zealand 73 lost to Sri Lanka 262-6 by 189 runs
Scorecard
The one-day series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka will head to a crunch decider after the Kiwis slumped to their highest ever one-day defeat.

They were bowled out for 73 to lose by 189 runs with Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga taking three wickets each.

Sri Lanka won the toss at Eden Park and notched up 262-6 in their 50 overs, Sanath Jayasuriya weighing in with 70 and Kumar Sangakkara 79.

The fifth and final match takes place in Hamilton on Tuesday.

It was New Zealand's largest margin of defeat, eclipsing the 174-run loss to India 10 years.

And it was their second lowest one-day total, only the 64 against Pakistan in 1985-86 was worse.

The technical ineptitude of the New Zealand batsman made them easy prey for Vaas and Malinga's accurate full-pitched bowling.


As batsman after batsman tried to score runs by working the bat around the pad, the toll of lbws mounted as New Zealand's innings and hopes of wrapping up the series in Auckland evaporated.

The score now stands at 2-2 with one-match remaining.

Captain Stephen Fleming, playing in his first match of the series, was out for a duck, as was Ross Taylor (0) and all of them including Peter Fulton (9), Hamish Marshall (3), Andre Adams (1) and Michael Mason (1) were trapped in front of their stumps.

Brendon McCullum (17), Shane Bond (2) and Mark Gillespie (0) bucked the trend and fell to catches, McCullum to a superb, diving leg side catch by wicket-keeper Sangakkara off Farveez Maharoof.

Bond was caught and bowled by Malinga and Gillespie was Sangakkara's second catching victim.

Jeetan Patel (6) was bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan who also dismissed Mason to take 2-7.

Craig McMillan, who returned to the squad for this game, was the only New Zealand batsman to offer resistance, remaining not out on 29.

Jayasuriya had set up Sri Lanka's domination superbly.

His 44-ball innings of 70 included seven fours and five sixes and he hit four of those sixes from five balls, reaching his half century from 32 deliveries.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said: "Obviously Sanath (Jayasuriya) batted brilliantly and gave us a great start and platform.

"Vaasy bowled a brilliant spell to take three wickets and from that point we were on top."

Fleming summed up New Zealand's performance by saying: "It was rubbish, that's what it was."

Srilanka VS newzealand-4th ODI

Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, will return to the side for the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka at Auckland on Saturday. Fleming sat out the first three games as per New Zealand's rotation policy ahead of the World Cup in March and the side was instead led by Daniel Vettori, the left-arm spinner.

While Nathan Astle, who opened for New Zealand in the absence of Fleming, will sit out of the fourth game, Jeetan Patel, released from the squad to play for Wellington, was recalled. Craig McMillan, who wasn't part of the third one-day squad, replaced James Marshall.

"With the continued use of Brendon McCullum at the top of the order, it is now necessary to introduce a player who can provide a powerful finish to the innings and we are looking to Craig to provide that," said John Bracewell, the New Zealand coach. He added that though Marshall was unlucky to miss out the game, the management wanted him to put pressure on those who had been selected.

New Zealand lead the five-match series 2-1 after they won the low-scoring third game played through rain interruption.

Squad
Brendon McCullum, Stephen Fleming (capt), Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Craig McMillan, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Andre Adams, Mark Gillespie, Shane Bond, Michael Mason, Jeetan Patel

Fleming returns for NZ

Stephen Fleming will return to lead the New Zealand team for the fourth One-Day International against Sri Lanka to be played in Auckland on Saturday.

Fleming was rested for the first three matches and Daniel Vettori led the side and hands over a 2-1 advantage for the remaining two games.

As a result of Fleming's inclusion, Nathan Astle has been rested for the Auckland game while James Marshall has been left out with Craig McMillan being called back in, along with Jeetan Patel.

McMillan played in Queenstown when Astle was unavailable due to an injury while Patel was released to play for Wellington in the domestic State Shield competition on Tuesday.

Coach John Bracewell said Marshall was unlucky to miss out.

However, with the continued use of Brendon McCullum as an opener New Zealand needed a player capable of providing a powerful finish to the batting and McMillan has been given that task in Auckland.

The team for the final game, in Hamilton on Tuesday, will be named after Saturday's game.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand team to compete in the tri-series with Australia and England is to be announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Kiwis gain lead in one-day series

Third one-day international, Christchurch: New Zealand 110-6 beat Sri Lanka 112 by four wickets (D/L)
Scorecard

An outstanding fielding performance from New Zealand helped them beat Sri Lanka by four wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match one-day series.

Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 112 in 35 overs, leaving the Kiwis an adjusted target of 110 from 46 overs after rain at various stages.

Peter Fulton top-scored with 43 not out and wrapped things up with a six as they got home in just 25 overs.

Michael Mason earlier took 4-24 during Sri Lanka's innings.

Sri Lanka, asked to bat first at Jade Stadium, were reduced to 55-4 as Mason and Shane Bond ran through the top order.

Wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum distinguished himself by leaping high and to his right to take an inside edge off the left-handed Upul Tharanga (11) and the overall fielding was exceptional both in the ring and the deep.

Quick work by Vettori and James Marshall led to the run-outs of Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan for one and 18, and Marvan Atapattu's 28 proved to be the highest score for the tourists.

It should have been an easy chase for the hosts but they contrived to collapse from 51-3 to 70-6 before Fulton and James Franklin produced a match-clinching partnership of 40.

There was controversy, however, over the dismissal of Ross Taylor for a duck when Tillakaratne Dilshan claimed a juggling catch, only for TV replys to show he had dropped the chance.

"The technology is there and the umpires are there to make those decisions. Nothing came out to me in the middle before the next ball was bowled," Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene commented.

But Vettori replied: "Sri Lanka have had numerous opportunities to display their own spirit of the game and this was another let-down of it."

Despite that, he was well satisfied with the result.

"Maybe we were a little aggressive in going after the runs, but Peter Fulton and James Franklin again showed pretty cool heads," Vettori added.

Bond returns to take on Sri Lanka

One-day international, Christchurch:
New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Match starts 2200 GMT

New Zealand will be boosted by extra firepower supplied by Shane Bond when their one-day series against Sri Lanka continues in Christchurch.

Bond was rested for the first two games but returns with the series tied at 1-1 with three to play.

The Kiwis have a squad rotation policy and Bond said: "The team and management have all bought into it.

"We're looking to build a squad for the World Cup and need to have 15 players capable of taking part and winning."

New Zealand left it late to do so in the last game at Queenstown, where number 11 Michael Mason hit the last ball for four to clinch a one-wicket victory.

"I felt for him because it would have been me batting at 11 if I'd been playing. I'm just happy that he walked down [the wicket], hit the ball over the bowler's head and won the game," said Bond.

All-rounder Nathan Astle also returns to the squad after recovering from a bruised thigh, but the selectors have decided to extend skipper Stephen Fleming's break, so Daniel Vettori will again lead the team.

"We wanted a sort of mini-series for Dan so he had something worth planning and playing for," coach John Bracewell explained.
Opposite number Tom Moody, meanwhile, has been the subject of recent speculation about the job of coaching Australia when John Buchanan gives up the job following the World Cup in April.

Moody's contract with Sri Lanka expires at the end of May and Sri Lanka Cricket president Jayantha Dharmadasa is keen to persuade him to renew it.

"We need him to continue the good work he is doing. He has teamed up well with the players and the cricket administration unlike coaches of the past that had to leave because of certain differences," he said.

"Both parties are happy with each other and we are working together cordially. The players are happy with him. So I don't see any reason why he should want to leave us."

He added: "We can't match what India, Australia and England can offer him. He might ask for a bigger fee. Depending on how we fare at the World Cup that might also be possible."

Scorecard-2nd ODI between Srilanka Vs Newzealand

31-12-2006 at Queenstown
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 1 wicket
New Zealand won the toss and decided to field
Sri Lanka Innings
224 for 7 (50.0 overs)
New Zealand Innings
228 for 9 (50.0 overs)

Srilanka



note:Click on the scorecard to enlarge.

Umpires: G A Baxter, S J Davis
New Zealand: B B McCullum, R L Taylor, P G Fulton, H J H Marshall, C D McMillan, J A H Marshall, J E C Franklin, A R Adams, D L Vettori, M R Gillespie, M J Mason.
Sri Lanka: W U Tharanga, S T Jayasuriya, D P M D Jayawardene, K C Sangakkara, M S Atapattu, L P C Silva, T M Dilshan, W P U J C Vaas, S L Malinga, M Muralitharan, M F Maharoof.

NZ claim dramatic last-ball win

One-day international, Queenstown:
New Zealand 228-9 bt Sri Lanka 224-7 by 1 wicket
[Scorecard]

New Zealand hit a four off the last ball of the innings to secure a desperately close win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international.

With the scores level, number 11 batsman Michael Mason hit Sanath Jayasuriya for four after having failed to score off the previous five balls.

Sri Lanka reached 224-7, mainly thanks to Kumar Sangakkara's 89.

But the total proved to be just within reach as Mason's heroics took his side to 228-9, levelling the series at 1-1.

Needing just a single to win the match, Mason looked to have missed his chance after failing to make contact with a misdirected waist-high full toss outside off-stump from Jayasuriya.


But the tailender, who had team-mate James Franklin unbeaten on 45 at the non-striker's end, made amends with a lofted drive to long-on at the death.

New Zealand put the visitors in to bat after winning the toss, and made early inroads with the cheap dismissals of Jasyasuiya and Jayawardene.

But Sangakkara's superb 89 - the highest score in a one-dayer at the Queenstown Events Centre - anchored Sri Lanka's innings, and included 10 boundaries.
Sangakkara provided the lion's share of the runs in partnerships with Upul Tharanga, Marvan Atapattu and Chamara Silva before being run out to leave the score at 176-5.

Lower order batsmen Farveez Maharoof (29 not out) and Chaminda Vaas (nine not out) both made quickfire runs to bring Sri Lanka's total up to 224, with Mason taking 2-50 and Mark Gillespie 2-46.

Makeshift opener James Marshall top-scored for New Zealand with a composed 50 from 80 balls, while his fellow opener Brendon McCullum made 32 before falling lbw to Maharoof with the score on 57.

But the innings soon began to wobble, slipping from 89-1 to 141-6 as Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Marshall, Craig McMillan and Daniel Vettori all departed.

Marshall's twin brother Hamish helped to steady the ship as he made 29 from 35 balls at number seven, sharing an important partnership of 34 with Franklin.

Franklin made 45 from 46 balls to take New Zealand to the brink of victory before Mason grabbed the winning runs.

The third game of the five-match series gets under way in Christchurch on Tuesday.

Vettori demands better bowling

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori wants a vastly improved performance from his inexperienced bowling attack in Sunday's one-dayer against Sri Lanka in Queenstown.

The tourists cantered to an easy seven-wicket victory in the opening match in Napier on Thursday, overhauling New Zealand's 8 for 285 with 10 overs to spare.

Veteran opener Sanath Jayasuriya did most of the damage, smashing 111 runs from just 82 balls against a wayward attack missing most of New Zealand's frontline bowlers.

Vettori, who is replacing regular captain Stephen Fleming for the first two one-dayers in the five-match series, said that New Zealand's bowling attack needed to get the basics right.

"The bowling plan is exactly the same, it's just about the implementation, which we let slip in Napier," he said.

"Sri Lanka bat down to seven and eight, so you've got to take wickets at the top and try not to buy those wickets, which we tended to do in the first game."

Another potential hurdle for the home side could be the loss of experienced batsman Nathan Astle, who suffered bad bruising to his thigh as he returned to form with 83 runs in the series opener.

After a shaky start, Astle grew in confidence and controlled the tempo of the New Zealand innings, passing the milestone of 7,000 one-day international runs before being unluckily run out.

"If we lose that experience and we lose that form it's going to mean someone is going to have to step up to cover it," Vettori said.

James Marshall, who was out first ball in Napier, is likely to step into Astle's opening spot if the 35-year-old is ruled unfit to play.

Kiwi bowlers look to bounce back

New Zealand hope their inexperienced bowlers will learn from a mauling in the opening one-dayer against Sri Lanka when the teams meet again on Sunday.

Sanath Jayasuriya blasted a brilliant 111 and put Michael Mason, Mark Gillespie and Andre Adams to the sword.

"They were trying to control the game with wickets rather than good, accurate back-of a-length bowling," Black Caps coach John Bracewell explained.

"Jayasuriya gave them a good lesson that accuracy does count."

Shane Bond is likely to return for the third game in Christchurch after suffering soreness in his back, but Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Kyle Mills are some way off.

All-rounder Craig McMillan has been drafted in to the squad, after a year's absence, with Nathan Astle doubtful after suffering bruising to his right thigh in the defeat in Napier.
Bracewell sees positives in having to persevere with raw youngsters.

"If you have good quick bowlers who can hit back of a length they are going to be handy for you in the long-run rather than the medium-pacers we continually produce," he added.

"To bowl to Jayasuirya in that sort of mood is an opportunity to learn not to fear.

"It's a great opportunity to play against an in-form side which the New Zealand public and world tend to underestimate."

Astle sees New Zealand home

New Zealand 116 for 5 (Astle 40*, McCullum 28, Fernando 3-19) beat Sri Lanka 115 all out (Malinga 27, Franklin 3-23) by five wickets.
Stuttering, stumbling, bumbling, New Zealand eventually managed to find a way home, beating Sri Lanka by five wickets at Eden Park to ensure that the two match Twenty20 series was shared one-all. After James Franklin and a menacing all-pace New Zealand attack had bundled out Sri Lanka for 115, New Zealand squandered a flying start, losing their way, before the experience of Nathan Astle eventually guided them home with nine balls to spare.

It should never have even gotten that sweaty, especially after Franklin had sashayed his way through the top order as Sri Lanka were put into bat by Stephen Fleming. From the very first ball of the match, he was at it, a thin edge from Upul Tharanga unnoticed by everyone, apart from technology. Not that it mattered for two balls later, he was bowled. That set a pattern for the rot that followed.

It helped that the surface had both pace and bounce, lifelong enemies of subcontinent teams, but arguably the zest with which New Zealand's grey shirts (a tribute to their 1992 World Cup innovators) bowled and fielded helped even more. Chamara Kapugedera tonked an impressive six over long-on in Franklin's second over but Mahela Jayawardene fell in the same over.

Kapugedera went himself next, slicing Michael Mason to third man, where Franklin - who seemed to be everywhere all at once at that stage - made a difficult chance look easy. Kumar Sangakkara, in regal touch all tour, briefly fought, hoicking and then flicking consecutive boundaries through leg in the sixth over.

As it turned out, those were the last boundaries for nearly seven overs, a veritable lifetime. Batsmen, meant to be lords of this format, were reduced to paupers. They fed off stolen, surreptitious singles and boundaries, their staple diet, all but vanished. Franklin came out of the attack, having dismissed Marvan Atapattu only for Mark Gillespie and Andre Adams to take over.

Gillespie charged, a quicker, less stocky Mick Lewis - touching 140kmph and getting bounce, he was altogether more threatening. Adams was skiddier, a mutant version of Imran Khan's action, but both picked up wickets during the middle overs and choked runs. At that stage the only bad news for New Zealand was Gillespie limping off with a knee injury in his last over.

Nathan Astle replaced Gillespie, a change that allowed Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando a worthy tailend punt. Malinga hoisted a massive six over midwicket off Astle. Almost like a top-order batsman, he dabbed him through point for four before lifting him for another six over long-on. Fernando played the wonky sidekick, inside edging and outside edging a couple of boundaries as a hundred was belatedly brought up. Two more conventional boundaries arrived, but they were merely a last, meek hurrah, Malinga falling to Jeetan Patel's off-spin with ten balls still left to go.
As often happens in these type of games, the pitch took on a different hue when the other side bowled. Sri Lanka were missing thousands of wickets' experience in Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya (all rested) and it showed.

A worse Boxing Day was difficult to imagine for Ruchira Perera, smashed liberally to all parts of the ground as New Zealand began in a hurry. Brendon McCullum, in particular, recreated his hustling, bustling, all-action persona from the first game. Perera's action looked rickety but his bowling was even worse, McCullum and Fleming taking six boundaries from his first two overs.

As he was taken off, Sri Lanka briefly recovered. For as long as there is limited overs cricket - of ten, twenty or fifty overs - there will remain the Sri Lankan spinners' mid-innings choke and Tillekeratne Dilshan and Malinga Bandara did it here. Boundaries momentarily dried up, singles evaporated and two run-outs in one Dilshan over pegged New Zealand back. At 65 for three, Sri Lanka squeaked.

But Astle simply played smart. Content to pick up singles and doubles where he could, he bided his time, waiting for the pacers, especially Perera, to return. When he did, in the 16th over, Astle immediately drove him over extra cover for four. And in his next over, he pulled him first for four through long-on before lifting him for a giant six over long-on: 15 from the over and the deal, with a little negotiating, was sealed.
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Vettori to lead Kiwis for first two ODIs versus Sri Lanka

WELLINGTON: New Zealand cricket has adopted the rotation policy for their World Cup build up, with Daniel Vettori named Saturday as captain for the early stages of the Sri Lanka one-day series.

Vettori takes over the reins from Stephen Fleming for the first two games in the five-match series. Express bowler Shane Bond will also sit out the first two matches as New Zealand cricket follows the highly successful All Blacks' rugby policy of giving frontline players plenty of rest to keep them fresh for key matches.

Vettori was the first key cricketer subjected to the policy -- sitting out the two-match Twenty20 series, which ends in Auckland on Tuesday.

Fleming has captained New Zealand in 195 matches of his 257 one-day game career, though vice-captain Vettori has led the side in eight one-day matches over the past two seasons.

The injury-prone Bond, who played in Friday night's 18-run Twenty20 loss to Sri Lanka in Wellington, has been diverted to a reconditioning programme. However, he is likely to figure when the squad is reselected for the final three one-day games against Sri Lanka, starting in Christchurch on January 2.

The one-day series opens in Napier on December 28, with the second game scheduled for Queenstown on New Year's Eve.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Hamish Marshall, James Marshall, Michael Mason, Brendon McCullum, Jeetan Patel, Ross Taylor.

Cricket-Rain ends Sri Lanka charge in Twenty20-Srilanka VS Newzealand

The opening Twenty20 cricket international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka came to an early end here with play abandoned because of rain as the tourists mounted a fiery run charge.

Under the Duckworth-Lewis system, Sri Lanka won by 18 runs after New Zealand made 162 for eight and Sri Lanka were 62 for one after 5.5 overs when the heavy rain forced players from the field on Friday.

After a rollicking start by Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum produced 80 runs in seven overs, New Zealand's batting faltered and they added just 82 runs in the remaining 13 overs.

Man-of-the-match Sanath Jayasuriya led Sri Lanka's reply with a near-solo masterpiece, hitting a rapid 51 in 23 balls, including 10 fours and one six, to score all but 11 of Sri Lanka's 62 runs.

New Zealand's opening onslaught came to an end when Farveez Maharoof bowled Fleming for 38 with a slower ball.

Spin twins Muttiah Muralitharan and Jayasuriya applied the pressure and the run rate slowed to a crawl.

Muralitharan was hit for two sixes in his first three balls before McCullum mistimed a slog and was caught by Upul Tharanga at deep midwicket for 39.

James Franklin, sent in as a pinch hitter, was trapped leg before wicket by Jayasuriya for 18, and Ross Taylor went lbw to Muralitharan for 21.

James Marshall lasted four balls and made one run before before being caught by a leaping Chamara Silva at midwicket for Jayasuriya's second wicket.

New Zealand turned to the veteran Nathan Astle to arrest the middle order collapse but he was bowled by Jayasuriya for 19.

With New Zealand finding runs hard to come by and wickets falling regularly, Silva was called on to bowl and he removed debutant wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan for five.

Shane Bond was back in the pavilion soon after, bowled by Chaminda Vaas without scoring.

Jayasuriya finished with figures of four for 21 from four overs, while Muralitharan took two for 27.

The only wicket to fall in Sri Lanka's run chase was that of Tharanga, who was caught by Fleming off the bowling of Bond for six.

The second and final Twenty20 match is at Auckland on December 26 and the first of the five one-day internationals is at Napier on December 28.
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