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Martin Guptill blitz demolishes Sri Lanka in Christchurch

by Sandeep Shivam Monday 28 December 2015

Martin Guptill scored an unbeaten 93 in just 30 deliveries for New Zealand in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Christchurch.

©REUTERS / Action Images

New Zealand 118-0 (Guptill 93no) beat
Sri Lanka 117 (Mathews 17) by 10 wickets
Second One-Day International in Christchurch
Scorecard

Martin Guptill smashed the fastest fifty by a New Zealand player as the Black Caps chased down a target of 118 runs in just 8.2 overs to complete a comprehensive victory over Sri Lanka in the second One-Day International in Christchurch.

The victory which gave New Zealand a 2-0 lead in the series was earlier set up by Matt Henry and Mitchell McClenaghan who shared seven wickets between them to bowl Sri Lanka out for just 117 runs in 27.4 overs.

Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first on a good batting track with Jeffrey Vandersay making a debut.

All seemed well for the visitors in the first three overs but in the fourth, Tillakaratne Dilshan (7) raced down the track only to have no answer to a short delivery from Henry (4-33) and was caught at first slip.

A couple of overs later, Lahiru Thirimanne (1) attempted an upper cut against McClenaghan (3-32) amd was caught at third man.

Danushka Gunathilaka (17) followed suit in the next over when he attempted a cover drive but Mitchell Santner (0-5) at covers pulled off a lovely catch giving Henry his second wicket.

Within eight overs, Sri Lanka were reduced to 33 for three. In the 14th over, Doug Bracewell (1-31) bowled an inswinger to trap Dinesh Chandimal (9) plumb in front while McClenaghan got Angelo Mathews (17) to feather an edge to the keeper.

Sri Lanka lost half their side with just 56 runs on the board. Three overs later, Sri Lanka slipped further into the mire by losing two wickets in the 19th over.

Firstly, McClenaghan got rid of Milinda Siriwardana (12) with a short delivery while Chamara Kapugadera (12) was run out after a complete mix-up in the middle.

It just got worse for Sri Lanka as Sachithra Senanayake (0) played onto his stumps in the next over trying to negotiate a delivery from Henry.

Nuwan Kulasekara (19) was dropped in the 22nd over and also survived an lbw review in the next. In the same over, Dushmantha Chameera (9) nicked a delivery to the keeper off Ish Sodhi (1-12), which was given out after a review from New Zealand.

Kulasekara struck three fours in the next over to take the total past 100 and was the last man to fall as Henry got him to chip a catch to short cover. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 117 in just 27.4 overs.

Henry had four wickets to his name while McClenaghan took three with Sodhi and Bracewell accounting for a wicket apiece.

The troubles were not over for Sri Lanka as they dropped Guptill (93 not out) in the very first ball. Guptill began his rampage with a six and a couple of fours in the second over and followed it up with three sixes and two fours in the next.

New Zealand raced away to 56 for naught in just three overs. After an over, Guptill brought up the fastest fifty from a New Zealand player, getting to the landmark in just 17 balls.

Vandersay (0-34) had an ODI debut to forget after Guptill smashed him for three sixes and two fours off his first over. Before Sri Lanka knew what hit them, New Zealand were already at 97 for naught at the end of the sixth over.

New Zealand went on to score the fastest team hundred and made short work of the target, chasing down the total in just 8.2 overs with Tom Latham (17 not out) hitting the winning runs.

Guptill was awarded the man of the match for his blazing knock. The third ODI will be played in Nelson on 31st December.