Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a composed knock of 91 as Sri Lanka thumped New Zealand by eight wickets in the third one-day international to keep the five-match series alive at Nelson’s Saxton Oval on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 277, Sri Lanka started off on a blistering pace with openers Danushka Gunathilaka and Dilshan setting the tone for a morale-boosting with a brisk opening stand of 98 from 12.4 overs.
Gunathilaka, who was adjudged as the Player of the Match, made a quick-fire 65 off 45 balls, including four sixes and seven boundaries, before he was dismissed by Mitchell McClenaghan, while Dilshan fell nine runs short of securing his 23 ODI ton as he was run out by Ross Taylor.
Sri Lanka chased down the target in 46.2 overs with Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal remaining unbeaten on their respective scores of 87 and 27.
Opting to bat first, New Zealand displayed a subdued performance in the absence of captain Brendon McCullum. The hosts were troubled by a disciplined Sri Lankan bowling, with stand in-skipper Kane Williamson top scoring with 59.
For Sri Lanka, Chamara Kapugedera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep shared six wickets between them.
With the win, Sri Lanka also brought an end to New Zealand’s 12-match ODI winning streak at home.
