T20 World Cup: NZL Beat SL By 2 Wickets

Latest Update News:-In an exciting start to the ICC T20 World Cup, New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 2 wickets with a ball to spare. It was a battle of nerves, which finally went in favour of the Kiwis.

Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first at Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana. As usual, the wicket played slow and Sri Lanka could manage just 135/6 in 20 overs.

Mahela Jayawardene was the top scorer with 81 off 51 balls, while Dinesh Chandimal made 29. For New Zealand, Shane Bond took 2 wickets.

Chasing a victory target of 136, New Zealand lost McCullum in the very first over. Jesse Ryder batted superbly and made 42 off 27 balls. Other batsmen did not make good contribution.

Although none of the Kiwis played a match-winning score and Sri Lanka was cruising towards a victory, Nathan McCullum

made the difference towards the end. He hit an unbeaten 16 off 6 balls to see New Zealand through. He had taken one wicket too.

New Zealand reached 139/8 in 19.5 overs and won by two wickets. For Sri Lanka, Muttiah Muralitharan tok 2 wickets. Nathan McCullum was declared “Man of the Match”.