New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by four wickets in the thrilling third and final T20I in Queenstown on April 8th, completing a 2-1 series victory. Tim Seifert’s blistering 88 off 48 balls, which included ten fours and three sixes, led the charge for the hosts. New Zealand looked set to cruise home in their chase of 183, but a dramatic final over when three wickets fell made for a nervy finish. Ultimately, they managed to seal the victory with a ball to spare.
After Sri Lanka posted a strong 182/6 from their 20 overs, with Kusal Mendis scoring 73 off 48 balls, Seifert led the reply with an equally brutal innings. Seifert dominated two half-century stands up front in the chase. His opening partnership with Chad Bowes was worth 53 runs in 5.3 overs, before Kumara got the visitors a much-needed breakthrough. Seifert then joined hands with his captain Tom Latham (31 off 23) to put on 84 runs for the second-wicket, which put the tall chase back on track. Latham played anchor, and Seifert carried on with his shots, getting to his second successive half-century with a six off Wanindu Hasaranga over midwicket, in just 26 deliveries.
At 154/3, when Seifert fell at the beginning of the 17th over, New Zealand were comfortably placed with just 29 off 23 required. However, the three subsequent overs yielded 6, 6 and 7, leaving Kumara with just nine to play with in the final over. Despite losing a hat-trick of wickets in the first three deliveries of the over, Mark Chapman hacked a six over deep midwicket on the first ball to set New Zealand on their way to victory.
In the first innings, Mendis got Sri Lanka going in the powerplay, after a watchful start, with back-to-back sixes off Matt Henry. He welcomed spin into the attack by smoking a six straight over Rachin Ravindra’s head and kept the attacking, reaching his half-century in 36 balls with a stylish flick over deep square leg for six off Adam Milne. Kusal Perera kept the tempo going, surviving a run-out chance on 24 before eventually succumbing to a Milne direct hit that brought the curtains down on his 21-ball cameo worth 31. Dhananjaya de Silva also slammed two maximums in his 9-ball knock of 20, but wickets in clusters towards the end halted Sri Lanka’s momentum.
In the end, New Zealand proved too strong for Sri Lanka, clinching the three-match T20I series 2-1. Seifert’s impressive batting performances throughout the series, which included scores of 79* and 88 in the last two games, earned him the Player of the Series award. The victory was a fitting farewell for New Zealand’s coach, Gary Stead, who will step down after the World T20 later this year.
