ICC World Cup 2019: It Was a Terrific Effort from the Bowlers - Kane Williamson

It was a dominating performance from New Zealand as they decimated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Saturday. The New Zealand pacers breathed down the neck of the Sri Lankan batsmen to skittle them out for a paltry score of 136. Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson scalped three wickets each and Sri Lanka’s batters could not get going. Moreover, Trent Boult, James Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner scalped one wicket each. New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson gave credit to his bowling battery for bundling out Sri Lanka for 136.

New Zealand fast bowlers made most of the green pitch and landed their balls in the right areas. Subsequently, Sri Lanka’s innings could never get going and they crumbled like a house of cards. Dimuth Karunaratne was the lone warrior and the Sri Lankan skipper showed some resistance with the bat to score an unbeaten 52.

Dominating performance from New Zealand.

Furthermore, New Zealand openers Colin Munro and Martin Guptill made sure that it was a one-sided affair as both of them scored half-centuries. Both the openers scored at more than run-a-ball and wrapped up the chase of 137 in 16.1 overs.

Kane Williamson said in the post-match presentation, “A great start. Winning the toss and taking early wickets was crucial on that wicket. It was a terrific effort from the bowlers to keep that pressure for 30 overs. I don’t think there is a problem with these pitches. With the new ball in both innings, you can expect some movement. When you bowl a side out for a lowish total, it’s going to be quite a tough thing to defend, and the full ball won’t be as threatening against unconventional cricket. It was slowish movement, so it was a surface where, if you can see off the movement, it’s easier to bat, but we were fortunate to get early wickets because it stopped doing a lot at the back-end”.

“In England, we can expect different kinds of wickets. In the warm-up games, we saw all kinds of attacks and wickets, so it is important to have a balanced attack for these wickets. We didn’t have too many conversations with the bowlers. But with the green tinge, you could expect the bowlers to be aggressive and they really were good up top. Munro played with freedom and played a lot of shots, and that’s going to infuse a lot of confidence, so we are hoping to carry this forward, on a different surface against different opposition”.

New Zealand came up with a complete performance as their bowlers were able to set up their win. Thus, the Kiwis will look to keep the good form going in the coming matches. The Blackcaps have ticked the right boxes in the recent past and they would aim to continue their good work going.

New Zealand will play their game against Bangladesh at Kennington Oval, London on 5th June.