Taylor, de Grandhomme steer New Zealand to victory in opening T20I
Lasith Malinga, the home skipper, elected to bat first on Monday, 2 September. The two Kusals, Mendis and Perera, opened the batting and got off to a fine start, adding 41 for the first wicket inside the first four and a half overs. Perera was the first wicket to fall with stand-in New Zealand captain Southee breaking the stand.
Avishka Fernando, the next batsman in, couldn’t make a meaningful contribution and was stumped by Tim Seifert off Mitchell Santner. The loss of Fernando resulted in the most profitable partnership for Sri Lanka, with Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella adding 63 in five overs. Mendis top-scored for the hosts with a fine 79, including eight fours and two sixes.
🚨 NEW ZEALAND WIN 🚨
— ICC (@ICC) September 1, 2019
de Grandhomme & Taylor added 79 for the fourth wicket before both fell in quick succession.
Mitchell & Santner see the Blackcaps to a five-wicket victory 👏
Scorecard 👇 https://t.co/q6UMYmmYRp pic.twitter.com/jf4kvJUqHe
The back-end of the Sri Lankan innings saw quick-fire cameos from Dasun Shanaka (17* off 12 balls) and Isuru Udana (15* off three balls), which helped the hosts finish on 174/4. Southee was the pick of the bowlers, returning 2/20 from his four overs.
New Zealand got off to the worst possible start in the chase, as Lasith Malinga bowled Colin Munro for a golden duck. The wicket was Malinga’s 98th in T20I’s, making him the joint leading wicket-taker in men's T20 internationals alongside Shahid Afridi.
Two more wickets fell inside the first eight overs as debutant Wanindu Hasaranga struck in his first over.
📸 Wanindu Hasaranga received his T20I cap from Team Manager/Chief Selector Mr. Asantha de Mel. pic.twitter.com/raFe07PQUQ
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) September 1, 2019
This bought together Taylor and de Grandhomme, and they built a foundation for the chase with a 79-run stand.
Malinga, however, struck off the third ball of his second spell, bowling de Grandhomme with one of his trademark yorkers, and thus becoming the leading wicket-taker in T20I history.
The leading wicket-taker in T20I history!
— ICC (@ICC) September 1, 2019
Congratulations Lasith Malinga 👏 pic.twitter.com/mj2oVbUz7c
Taylor, however, started cramping later in his innings and was trapped lbw by Hasaranga for 48. The batsman reviewed to no avail, and as his dismissal was confirmed, the game was halted due to rain.
Play resumed with no overs lost, with New Zealand requiring 31 runs from 19 balls.
Daryl Mitchell (25*) and Mitchell Santner (14*) then collaborated to see the visitors to victory with three balls to spare.
