A mature, measured and thrilling run chase drove New Zealand
to victory by four wickets chasing 277 against Sri Lanka in the fourth one-day
international in Nelson.
Luke Ronchi produced an inspirational 24 runs, including
three straight sixes to turn the match in the hosts' favour in the 48th over.
He finished on 32 from 15 balls and again proved his value as a closer to the
New Zealand cause. Daniel Vettori hit the winning runs which left 11 balls to
spare and enabled New Zealand to go 2-1 up in the seven match series.
The majority of credit, however, lay with The Metronome, aka
Kane Williamson, who anchored the innings with 103 off 107 balls.
Tick-tock, tick-tock the singles came as he generated the
rhythm, then he distilled twos to inspire belief, and finally he gifted himself
the odd boundary as the team edged towards triumph.
Williamson's strokes for the most part appeared magnetised
to the grass as he compiled his fifth ODI century. His first instinct was to
push singles.
Anything else was a bonus.
He eased 41 of his runs behind square using the pace of the
ball without forcing his strokes.
New Zealand's World Cup-winning prospects now look skewed on
the basis of his presence. New Zealand were lucky to have him after speculation
he could be rested with his minor shoulder injury.
In 14 ODIs since the start of last year, he has passed 50 on
nine occasions and New Zealand have not lost (eight wins and one tie). In the
five other results there was a win (Williamson made 47) and four losses.
Williamson and Elliott, with a reassuring 44 off 58 balls
obliged to deliver a partnership of 88 for the fourth wicket. Between the 16th
and 29th overs they scored 66 runs off 84 balls yet hit just two fours.
Corey Anderson reinforced the momentum with 47 off 44.
The New Zealand batsmen benefited from their bowlers'
performance at the death.
Mitchell McClenaghan, Tim Southee and Anderson concede just
65 runs in the last ten overs and took six wickets. That extended to eight
wickets for 96 in the last 16.2 overs.
Earlier, Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews won the toss
which treated fans to a symphony of stroke-making from twin 37-year-olds Kumar
Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
The customary elegance of Sangakkara (76 from 83 balls) and
Jayawardene (94 off 82) showed why Sri Lanka are a threat in the opening game
of the World Cup and beyond in the tournament.
To put their consistency into context, it was Sangakkara's
92nd half-century in 370 innings and Jayawardene's 77th half-century in 409.
The pair oscillated between playing the ball along the
ground and hitting in calculated fashion through the air. One stroke off Adam
Milne was illustrative: New Zealand's fastest bowler delivered an effective
short of a length ball and Jayawardene rocked back to late cut. The ball fizzed
and swerved towards the third man boundary. Only some quality fielding from
Grant Elliott saved an effortless four. Milne's pace was defused.
Milne spent some time off the field during the innings,
apparently with sore ribs, but put together a tidy display with two for 28 from
seven overs, enhanced by a wise review of an Angelo Mathews nick down the
legside first ball to restrict Sri Lanka to 180 for four.
Milne complimented Southee's strong return of three for 59
from his allotment.
McClenaghan may have bowled too short early in the search
for aggression, and dropped Sangakkara at short fine leg on 53 as New Zealand
sought to reinforce the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan for 44 four balls
earlier. McClenaghan resurged in his final overs to finish with two for 58,
from 9.3 overs.
Vettori fulfilled his usual containment role, taking no
wickets but conceding just 4.1 runs-per-over through the middle overs.
Brendon McCullum produced the innings highlights in the
field. His chase-and-dive routine to save a boundary resulted in him smashing
into an advertising hoarding with such an impact it echoed. The crowd erupted.
Likewise his catch of Thisara Perera, running the length of a pitch to wide
mid-off was a gem. He completed his display in the final over with the run out
of Nuwan Kulasekara after spilling what would have been a candidate for
catch-of-the-summer with a goal-keeper dive at mid-off.
Kulasekara couldn't be blamed for being distracted by the
athleticism.
The fifth match is in Dunedin on Friday.
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