Updated June 1st, 2019 at 20:54 IST
World Cup 2019: New Zealand decimate Sri Lanka as they win by 10 wickets, netizens are unhappy about this trend in the tournament
Sri Lanka were completely outplayed by New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup match at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Saturday.
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Sri Lanka were completely outplayed by New Zealand in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 match at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Saturday. They were asked to bat after the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson won the toss. The Lankans suffered an early blow when Lahiru Thirimanne was trapped in front of the wicket off the second ball of the match by Matt Henry, after he was hit for a boundary off his previous delivery. Then, there was a slight recovery as captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera added 42 runs for the second wicket.
Just when things were looking good for Sri Lanka, Henry came back and not only broke the partnership, but also dismissed Kusal Mendis in the very next delivery for a golden duck to leave the Islanders reeling at 46/3. There was no respite for them despite that as wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals. Nonetheless, a 52-run seventh wicket stand between Karunaratne and Thisara Perera helped Sri Lanka reach the three-figure mark. Once, Perera was dismissed, the onus fell on the Sri Lankan skipper to play a good knock and take his team to a respectable total. Karunaratne did not disappoint and remained unbeaten on an 84-ball 52, but fell short of batting partners at the other end as the 1996 champions were bowled out for just 136 in the 30th over.
In reply, New Zealand reached the target without breaking a sweat. Solid half-centuries from openers Martin Guptill (73) and Colin Munro (58) ensured a comprehensive win for the Kiwis by 10 wickets in the 17th over.
Meanwhile, the netizens had to say that such lopsided contests were not a great advertisement for the 50-over format. Here are some of the tweets.
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Published June 1st, 2019 at 20:28 IST