Pallekele: Kusal Mendis hit a patient 74 not out as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by three wickets under the DLS method with six balls remaining in the rain-hit second ODI.
Sri Lanka took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with the final game also at Pallekele on Tuesday. Sri Lanka won the first one-day international by 45 runs 'also by DLS' after rain disrupted that game at Dambulla.
It was Sri Lanka's fifth ODI series win at home in 2024 after it had beaten Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, India and West Indies. Sri Lanka couldn't qualify for next year's Champions Trophy after finishing ninth at last year's 50-over World Cup in India, but has since then lost just one ODI series in Bangladesh while winning five at home.
"It is really tough for batters to score runs here," Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said. "This is just another series. As a team, we are moving towards a big goal and we have to achieve that, this is a process."
Mendis followed his career-best 143 in the series opener with a determined 102-ball knock as Sri Lanka reached 210-7 in 46 overs.
The match was cut to 47 overs-a-side after two rain interruptions when New Zealand batted and was bowled out for 209 in 45.1 overs. Sri Lanka was set a target of 210.
Off-spinner Michael Bracewell's first four-wicket ODI haul (4-36) gave New Zealand a sniff when Sri Lanka slipped to 163-7 before Maheesh Theekshana (27 not out) shared a match-winning 47-run stand with Mendis and carried the team home.
Earlier, Sri Lanka grassed a few hard chances but Avishka Fernando took three spectacular catches after Asalanka won the toss and elected to field.
Mark Chapman ended his struggling batting form with 76 off 81 balls, but his dismissal in the 37th over would see New Zealand lose its last six wickets for 36 runs. Mitchell Hay made a well composed 49 off 62 balls and shared a 75-run stand with Chapman. Hay was the last man to be dismissed.
New Zealand struggled against a four-pronged spin attack with Theekshana (3-31) and Jeffrey Vandersay (3-46) sharing six wickets. Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, the only change Sri Lanka made from the team which won the first game, and Asalanka took one wicket each.
Bracewell mopped up the top order but Mendis stood firm as he completed his half century off 84 balls with four boundaries. He added 39 runs with Janith Liyanage and another 31 with Wellalage, who struck three successive boundaries in his 18-run knock against Nathan Smith before holing out at mid-on to give Bracewell his fourth wicket.
But Theekshana showed some aggression against pace, slicing fast bowler Jacob Duffy for the only six in the Sri Lanka chase and also struck two boundaries.
"It is always a challenge when you are defending a low score," New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said. 'Kusal played the situation very well' that partnership (between Kusal and Theekshana) at the end took it away, but we also left a few runs out there.�
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