NZ vs SL | New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka in the last ball

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Christchurch: New Zealand won the last ball of the match in the first rain-affected Test against Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan team set New Zealand a target of 285 runs in the first Test match in Christchurch. On the 4th day, New Zealand scored 28 runs for the loss of one wicket in 17 overs. Daven Conway was dismissed for 5 runs. Tom Latham remained unbeaten with 11 and Kane Williamson with 7 runs. New Zealand played the last day yesterday with 257 more runs needed to win.

2 sessions were not played completely due to rain. The umpires announced that 53 overs would be bowled in the last session. New Zealand kept batting under pressure at an average of 4.85 runs per over. Tom Latham 24 and Henry Nicholls 20 were dismissed by Prabhat Jayasuriya. Daryl Mitchell, who entered the field at the loss of 3 wickets for 90 runs, played action along with Williamson.

Daryl Mitchell scored 81 runs off 86 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes. The pair added 142 runs for the 4th wicket. After this Tom Blundell 3 and Michael Bracewell 10 runs. 15 runs were needed from the last 2 overs to win. Tim Southee (1) was out after 7 runs were added in the 69th over bowled by Lagiru Kumara. 8 runs were required in the last over bowled by Fernando. Matt Henry (4) was run out trying for two runs off the 3rd ball after 2 runs off the first two balls. 4th ball driven by Williamson for a boundary. But he couldn’t add any runs in the next ball.

Fernando bounced the last ball and it bounced off Williamson’s bat to the wicketkeeper. In no time, Williamson ran to get the run. Wicket keeper Niroshan Thikwela bowled the ball towards the non-striker’s area and Fernando picked it up and smashed Stamp with his accurate throw. But Williamson swung the bat forward deftly and raced into the crease. It was the winning run.

In the end, New Zealand scored 285 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 70 overs and won by 2 wickets. Kane Williamson, who hit his 27th century, remained unbeaten on 121 off 194 balls, with one six and 11 fours. This is the first time a New Zealand team has chased down a big target and won. Sri Lanka’s defeat in this match denied India the chance to qualify for the ICC World Test Championship final.

The Sri Lankan team made a lot of mistakes in the fielding which led to the defeat. Importantly, Niroshan Thikwela missed a catch when Williamson was on 33. The Sri Lankan team benefited from this.

The 2nd Test between the two teams will begin in Wellington on Friday.

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