Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 2nd ODI at Kandy, SL vs NZ, Nov 17 2024 - Match Result

11:40pm That will be all from us for tonight. We hope you enjoyed our coverage and we will be back on Tuesday as Sri Lanka chase a clean sweep and New Zealand look to deny them. Until then, this is goodbye from Madushka, Raghav and myself. Take care, everyone!

Kusal Mendis, Player of the Match: (On his injury) I think a little bit okay, but not bad. It was very hard to bat against the new ball. Pathum started really well and that was very important. I tried to take a chance and take it deep. Dunith, Janith and Maheesh batted really well and supported me. Our spinners bowled really well. In the second half, it was spinning more. Dew came late and that helped more spin. Little hard to bat with my injury and I could not play the sweep (freely) and that is my getaway shot.

Charith Asalanka, Sri Lanka captain: As always, I am saying it is a journey. This is just another series. As a team, we are moving towards a big goal and we have to achieve that. This is a process. I misread the pitch a little. As we thought, dew came but the pitch was not (what we thought it would be like). (On Theekshana batting higher up) I hope so (laughs), Maheesh also liked that (innings). It is really tough for batters to score runs here. 2-3 batters, if they get set, their job is to finish the job. (On if they want to test their bench strength in the last ODI) I think we should try our bench (in the next game).

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand captain: It is always a challenge when you are defending a low score. Kusal played the situation very well. we were trying to get the run-rate up but it never got over five. That partnership (between Kusal and Theekshana) at the end took it away, but we also left a few runs out there. Good performance with the ball to squeeze them and take wickets. We got a lot of spin in, was surprised it spun that much in the night. If we put up a few more runs out there and got to 240, it might have been a different story. It is a challenge coming over here and batting. Credit goes to them (for how they have bowled). Asitha bowled really well up top, and then mystery spin is always difficult (to face). (On the quick turnaround from the India Test series) That is the nature of the schedule. We know we have another game in a day's time. We have to be up for it and get out of the series with a win. We showed some good stuff today but those little things (that we did not do right) can take us over the line.

Jay Deshpande: "In my opinion, this has to be one of Kusal Mendis's best ODI innings of his career. The way he continued to keep the runs ticking during an innings that could have resulted in a collapse and capitulation is amazing."

11:19pm A tense game of cricket, which kept ebbing and flowing, until Sri Lanka produced the final meaningful salvo, courtesy Theekshana and the wounded warrior, Kusal Mendis. When they got together, they still had a lot to do, but neither showed any sigs of buckling under pressure. Theekshana knocked the ball around confidently and found the fence when needed, with Kusal, in his new-found Zen avatar, ensuring there were no hiccups.

New Zealand, meanwhile, fought and tried to graft their way to a series-levelling win. Santner set the tone early and got the ball to spin sharply, which may have planted seeds of doubt in the batter's minds. Bracewell, though, was the pick, and bagged a four-wicket haul. Phillips also supported him well but Sodhi's lack of wickets, plus the runs their seamers leaked, in addition to the total they had on the board, eventually led to their undoing.

Maheesh Theekshana: Very satisfying for me. In the T20Is, I missed a chance to be a hero and today I did. Really happy for the team that we won a series against New Zealand. (On his plan when he went out to bat) They had to get wickets, so they gave Kusal a single and tried to get my wicket. But whenever they bowled bad balls, I could get boundaries. Tried to play along the ground and not hit in the air - that was the plan. (On the pitch) After we bowled, we thought the wicket was good. And we were relaxed, but then, the ball started turning in the first over (smiles). We knew it would be tough to bowl with dew (for them). We have good, experienced players, so it is tough to get into the eleven. So, whenever we don't do the job, we have someone who can replace. The World Cup we played in India, it was a shame for all of us. Great for us to be back in confidence and in a winning moment.

Smith comes back into the attack. Can he produce some magic? Or will SL nudge past the finish line? 5 off 12

abhishek: "How crucial was that 15 run over from Duffy, closed the game for NZ" -- There have been a couple of very decisive overs against pace, with Wellalage smashing Smith for three fours in a row also crucial to changing the momentum of the contest