New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in world cup opener
14th February, Christchurch - New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 98 runs in World Cup Opener at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
Match Report
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Sri Lankan Captain Angelo Mathews won the toss and elected to field against co-hosts New Zealand at Christchurch. New Zealand took full advantage of the batting track and smashed 331 for six in the opening match of the ICC World Cup here Saturday.
Captain Brendon McCullum l(65) and Martin Guptill (49) shared a 111-run partnership to gave a solid start to the team.
All-rounder Corey Anderson added the finishing touches as he smashed 75 off 46 to propel New Zealand to an imposing score.
Suranga Laknal and Jeevan Mendis were the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka taking two wickets each.
Chasing down a mammoth total, Sri Lanka fell short by 98 runs.
Quotes
Corey Anderson (Man of the match): It is always nice to come back home and plays against family and friends. I always have different plans sitting in the dressing room. We got some important partnerships which helped us set a good total. Bowlers did a great job, credit to all the bowlers, Vettori bowled beautifully.
Brendon McCullum: Today we continued to play the good cricket as we have been doing throughout the season. We thought it would swing early on as the conditions were overcast and we too wanted to bowl 1st but that didn't happen. Despite scoring 330 runs we were bit nervous at the half way stage as we knew how many world class players they have in their line up. Bowlers were touch expensive at the start but Boult and Milne came back hard and got us the important wickets. Southee was at his usual best and Vettori too bowled brilliantly. It was pleasing performance.
Angelo Mathews: We knew it was a good wicket but we bowled badly at the start though we came back in the middle overs but in the death overs game just drifted away from us. We gave away 30-40 runs too many. Once again we lost our way in the run chase after getting off to a good start. Unfortunately we didn't got the big scores from any of our top order batsmen, but there is no need to panic as there is still 5 more games to go. Good that Malinga is back with full fitness and it was a rare off day for him, we are pretty sure he will bounce in the next game.
