New Zealand was asked to bat first in a rain-affected match, which was reduced to 37 overs. They posted a total of 255/9, with Rachin Ravindra (79 off 63) and Mark Chapman (62 off 52) scoring fifties. Maheesh Theekshana (4/44) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2/39) were the top wicket-takers for the Sri Lanka team.
Kamindu Mendis fought back with a solid 64 off 66 balls, including five fours and three sixes. He formed important partnerships, adding 57 runs with Janith Liyanage (22 off 31) for the fifth wicket and 47 runs with Chamindu Wickramasinghe (17 off 27). However, he was dismissed in the 29th over of the chase.
Nathan Smith, who misfielded earlier in the day, redeemed himself by diving horizontally and grabbing the ball with both hands just before it hit the ground. This stunning effort was hailed as potentially the catch of the series. Malinga was dismissed for 4 runs off 5 balls, which included one boundary.
Here's the video of Nathan Smith's acrobatic fielding effort:
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) January 8, 2025
Good Game-Time for the Guys - Mitchell Santner
"We opened up really well, lost wickets in the middle but seamers did their thing on a wicket that offered a little bit. Knew we had to bowl well at the start, credit to Theekshana and he bowled wide and made us hit to the bigger side and they stuck to their line and lengths for a long time and made it challenging for us. Usually it swings here under lights, but the bounce our bowlers got has proven to be challenging. Good game-time for the guys," Santner said.
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