In the third and final ODI, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets and sealed the 3-match series 2-0. Notably, the hosts had won the opening game by 198 runs, while the second ODI was abandoned without a ball being bowled due to rain.
Henry Nicholls seals the win and a 2-0 series victory! Catch up on all scores at https://t.co/3YsfR1YBHU or the NZC app 📲 #NZvSL #CricketNation pic.twitter.com/URvebSkaBl
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) March 31, 2023
With the series loss, the Islanders have also lost their hopes of securing a direct qualification for the upcoming ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place in India later this year. Now they will have to play qualifiers in June.
Sri Lanka failed to Qualify directly into the 2023 World Cup.
They will play in Qualifiers in June.
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 31, 2023
Coming back to the third ODI, chasing a modest target of 158 runs, New Zealand had a shaky start, losing three wickets for just 19 runs. However, Will Young‘s gritty knock of 86 runs off 113 balls, with 11 fours, helped them to recover and eventually win the match by 6 wickets in 32.5 overs.
New Zealand win the ODI series 2-0!#NZvSL pic.twitter.com/OLBmDCsPC4
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) March 31, 2023
Earlier, the Sri Lankan innings struggled to get going after opting to bat, as they were bowled out for just 157 runs in 41.3 overs. Pathum Nissanka was the only Sri Lankan batter to put up a fight, scoring 57 runs off 64 balls with eight fours and 1 six.
During this NZ tour, Sri Lanka got eliminated from WTC Final as well as direct qualification to World Cup.#NZvSL
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) March 31, 2023
Matt Henry, Henry Shipley and Daryl Mitchell were the pick of the bowlers for the Black Caps, taking 3 wickets each and conceding just 14, 32 and 32 runs, respectively.
