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Apoorv Dwivedi
Yesterday’s T20 match, 5th in the series between Australia and Sri Lanka marked the end of cricket in Australia for the season. The team will be traveling to Pakistan for the first time in 24 years, the tour begins on March 4 with a 3 match Test series.
Sri Lanka vs Australia (1-4)
The Sri Lankan team which has been going through a transition phase for the last 7 years was never in the hunt against the world champions. Australia outperformed them in all the departments of the game.
Josh Inglis was the top scorer for Australia with an aggregate of 155 runs. Pathum Nissanka was the overall highest run-getter with 184.
Medium-pacer Josh Hazlewood made his return to cricket. He picked an injury during the Ashes and bagged a 4-wicket haul on his return match. It looked like the Lankan Lions will not be able to defer a whitewash but some late hitting by skipper Dasun Shanaka ensured that the team chased down the target of 155 on the penultimate ball.
Daniel Sams was roped into the bowl the last two balls of the match as Bowler Kane Richardson picked up a niggle during the final over and left the field without bowling the last two balls.
Sri Lanka lost the series 4-1
New Zealand vs South Africa
Just fresh from a home series win against top-ranked Team India, South Africa had a disastrous start on their tour to New Zealand with a humiliating defeat. They lost by an innings and 276 runs. This one-sided contest was played at Hagley Oval, Christchurch.
The biggest talking point of the match was the stupendous performance put up by Fast bowler Matt Henry. He returned the figures of 7-23 in the first innings causing a batting order collapse. The Proteas got out for a mere 95 runs in 49 overs.
Henry replicated similar form with the bat as he scored 58 runs coming in at no.11, he helped his team reach a total of 482. With a 387 run deficit, things couldn’t have gone more wrong for Dean Elgar’s team. Veteran Tim Southee ran through the opposition with a 5-wicket haul, his 14th career five-wicket haul. All South Africa could manage was 111 runs.
Henry added two more wickets to his tally. He returned with a match haul of 9 wickets. During the course of the second Innings, Tim Southee took over Sir Richard Hadlee as the highest wicket-taker on the New Zealand soil. He has 202 wickets at home now. Hadlee had 201 to his name.