AUCKLAND, Mar 25: Harry Shipley took 5-31 as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 76 on Saturday to lose the first one-day international against New Zealand by 198 runs.
New Zealand made 274 batting first on a drop-in pitch at Eden Park and Sri Lanka was dismissed for its lowest-ever ODI total against New Zealand, its fifth-lowest in all one-day internationals.
Sri Lanka lost its first two wickets at 14, its third at 20 and its fourth and fifth at 31 as its innings unraveled inside the first 10 overs.
When a break was taken after 14.2 overs to honor victims, rescuers and recovery workers involved in Cyclone Gabrielle which battered New Zealand’s North Island on Feb. 14, Sri Lanka was 49-7.
Wickets continued to fall steadily and when Sri Lanka was all out after only 19.5 overs, it was for the second lowest one-day international total at Eden Park. Angelo Mathews, who was playing his first ODI in two years, was one of only three Sri Lanka batsmen to reach double figures.
Sri Lanka’s first wicket fell to a runout in the sixth over. Shipley took his first wicket in spectacular style when his angled delivery to opener Pathum Nissanka jagged back through the batter’s shot and uprooted his leg stump.
He also dismissed Kusal Mendis (0), Charith Asalanka (9), Chamika Karunaratne 11 and captain Dasun Shanaka for a first-ball duck. Shipley was playing his first match for New Zealand in New Zealand after making his debut in India late last year.
“It was pretty cool, not what I was expecting to do when I came to the ground,” Shipley said. “The batters said there was enough there and the score we had on the board was going to be tricky so that gave us confidence to go out there and do that.”
Shanaka said his team went out to bat confident that New Zealand’s total was “chaseable” at Eden Park which is noted for its short boundaries.
“The way we started, I thought it was going to be a very good game,” he said. “The way Shipley bowled, the movement he got and the bounce was responsible for the things that happened tonight so credit should be given to him.”
New Zealand wouldn’t have been confident when its innings ended at 274, not a massive score by Eden Park standards. Finn Allen top-scored with 51 and Rachin Ravindra made 49 on debut as New Zealand posted what seemed a moderate total.
South Africa-born opener Chad Bowes, on debut at 30, struck the first ball of the match and his international career for four to announce that intention. But after reaching 108-2 in the 19th over, New Zealand lost three wickets for 44 runs, its momentum slowed and couldn’t be entirely recovered.
After Allen, whose fifth ODI half century came from 47 balls, several New Zealand batters made starts but couldn’t go on to produce innings which carried New Zealand to a higher total.
Daryl Mitchell made 47, Glenn Phillips a breezy 39 and Ravindra played and important innings which boosted the New Zealand total before holing out to long off one run short of a debut 50.
Sri Lanka needed to win all three matches in the current series to improve its chances of qualifying automatically for the 50-over World Cup in India later this year. New Zealand already has qualified.
The teams play the second match of the three-game series on Tuesday in Christchurch, with the final game set for Hamilton next Friday. The ODI series will be followed by three Twenty20 matches.
New Zealand won the preceding two-test series 2-0. (AP)
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