In Christchurch, spin bowler Daniel Vettori, 36, took two wickets for 34 runs and also had two catches. But the man of the match was Corey Anderson; he took two wickets in 3.1 overs and, batting sixth, added 75 runs on 46 deliveries. New Zealand’s opening partnership of captain Brendon McCullum and Martin Guptill scored 111 runs before McCullum was out for 65.
New Zealand finished 331 for 6 and held Sri Lanka to 233 all-out in reply.
Sri Lanka struck back briefly and had the Black Caps at 193 for 4 before Anderson took over.
Meantime, the New Zealand bowlers limited Sri Lanka’s dangerous lineup. Only opener Lahiru Thirimanne (65 runs off 60 deliveries) and captain Angelo Mathews (46 off 52) exceeded their batting average. The biggest wicket was Mahela Jayawardene, bowled by Vettori for zero in three minutes. Jayawardene entered with more than 10,000 ODI runs in his career, with a 33.48 average and 79.01 strike rate.
