New Zealand did most things right in the first innings against Sri Lanka on Thursday, November 9, as the Kiwi bowlers skittled the Lions for a paltry total 171 on the board in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash in Bengaluru. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
But there was one moment of hilarious ineptitude as the usually balanced skipper Kane Williamson decided to opt for a DRS, hoping for an LBW when the ball was actually smashed off the inside edge onto the pad. The incident occured in the 24th over of the Lankan innings with Lockie Ferguson bowling to Dushmantha Chameera.
The fourth delivery of the over was a full-toss hooping into middle, which Chameera tried to defend and got a thick inside edge on to his pad instead. Daryl Mitchell, standing at first slip, and Glenn Phillips at point somehow missed the edge, and convinced Williamson to go for a review. The replays confirmed the big deflection and Mitchell, Phillips both left the huddle with a sheepish grin. You can watch the video of the hilarious review and the reactions afterwards below.
Meanwhile, when it comes the qualification scenario, advantage still resides with New Zealand in the race for the fourth spot. Despite losing their last four matches - the most recent due to an unfortunate washout - the Blackcaps are currently fourth with a significantly better net run rate than closest competitors Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, they need to beat Sri Lanka to get to ten points, so as not to leave any gaps behind that their rivals could take advantage of.
Sri Lanka unceremoniously exited the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 semi-final race with a defeat against an already-eliminated Bangladesh under controversial circumstances in their last game. Uncertainty awaits the Lions back home, where the entire cricket board was initially purged by sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe before being reinstated by a court.
Rain, however, could yet play another crucial part in the game. Having already dealt a significant blow to New Zealand, the Bengaluru weather threatens to wash over their World Cup dreams with another rainy day on the cards.
Playing XIs
New Zealand: Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson (C), Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (C) Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilshan Madushanka
