New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI, 2015: Highlights, Scorecard and Report

Sri Lanka levelled things up in their ODI series with New Zealand on Thursday, winning the second match by six wickets thanks in no small part to a fine innings of 116 from Tillakaratne Dilshan.

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The opener was a steadying influence in the tourists’ pursuit of New Zealand's total of 248; a score which would have been considerably less had it not been for the effervescent efforts of Brendon McCullum. The big-hitting 33-year-old hammered 117 from just 99 balls at the top of the order, but his team-mates failed to lend much at all in terms of support.

Indeed, it proved to be a total way short of what was required as Sri Lanka knocked off the winning runs with 14 balls to spare.

Here’s the full scorecard from the second game of this seven-match series and a look back at the best of the action from Hamilton:

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Mins	Balls
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Guptill	c Mathews	b Kulasekara	10	28	19
B McCullum	c and b J Mendis		117	114	99
Latham	c Sangakkara	b Herath	5	20	15
Taylor	c T Perera	b Herath	34	97	69
Vettori	run out (J Mendis)		7	15	8
Anderson	run out (Mathews)		5	28	14
Ronchi	run out (Dilshan)		0		0
N McCullum	run out (M Jayawardene)		13	19	26
Milne	st Sangakkara	b Senanayake	19	27	27
Henry	not out		20	17	17
Boult	c Thirimanne	b Senanayake	13	8	6
	Extras	0nb 5w 0b 0lb	5
Total	for 10 (50.0 ovs)	248	Total	for 10 (50.0 ovs)	248
Kulasekara	8.0	0	40	1
T Perera	4.0	0	41	0
Senanayake	10.0	0	55	2
Herath	10.0	0	36	2
J Mendis	10.0	0	47	1
Dilshan	7.0	0	27	0

After picking up a comfortable three-wicket victory in the first ODI, New Zealand would have been delighted to have won the toss. The Kiwis decided to bat, and with the powerful pairing of Martin Guptill and McCullum at the top of the order, a big score looked as though it was going to be on the cards for the hosts.

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The latter of the aforementioned duo really took advantage of the favourable circumstances. McCullum was a perennial menace to the Sri Lankan bowling attack as he settled into a devastating groove on his way to a magnificent century that included 12 fours and five sixes.

As noted here by former Australia cricketer Tom Moody, McCullum is one of the finest ODI players in the world at the moment:

Sadly for those New Zealanders in attendance, the captain’s trailblazing was to be the only real highlight of what was an otherwise underwhelming innings. Indeed, somewhat remarkably, four New Zealand batsmen were run out during their effort as the rest of McCullum’s men showcased some staggeringly poor decision-making.

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As we can see here courtesy of cricket writer Andrew Fernando, with the innings drawing on, it was becoming increasingly apparent just how vital the captain’s knock was:

Amid the run-out chaos there were some fine examples of containment bowling from Sri Lanka, particularly from Rangana Herath, who finished with decent figures of 2-36. Ultimately a coalescence of the tourists’ shrewd work in the field and New Zealand's naivety conjured a final score of 248 for the hosts.

Batsman	Dismissal	Bowler	Runs	Minutes	Balls
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Karunaratne	lbw	b N McCullum	21	52	38
Dilshan	c Ronchi	b Henry	116	176	127
Sangakkara	c Latham	b Milne	38	37	41
M Jayawardene	c Taylor	b Henry	27	31	29
Mathews	not out		39	64	46
Thirimanne	not out		2	7	5
Extras	Extras	0nb 4w 0b 5lb	9
Total		for 4 (47.4 ovs)	252
Boult	10.0	1	52	0
Henry	9.4	0	34	2
Milne	8.0	0	61	1
N McCullum	6.0	0	40	1
Vettori	10.0	1	40	0
Anderson	4.0	0	20	0

It looked a little short, especially after New Zealand had decided to bat. And while Sri Lanka’s batsmen failed to fire in the first ODI, it’s rare for players like Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Dilshan rarely go two games in a row without picking up some kind of sizeable score.

The former two of that trio were short of their best again, but luckily enough for the tourists, Dilshan came to the fore.

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The opener’s knock didn’t contain fireworks comparable to McCullum, but with a run rate required of just under five-an-over, it didn’t need to be. Dilshan played in an admirably measured fashion throughout the innings, going to his 19th ODI century in 127 balls.

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The opener's controlling influence throughout meant there was little doubt regarding a Sri Lankan victory and, although Dilshan fell late in the innings, by that point his team were just inches away from the finishing line. Eventually, Angelo Mathews—who played well for his unbeaten 39—hit the winning runs for his side in the 48th over.

Both of these sides are looking to accrue some vital momentum ahead of next month’s World Cup, but already in this series we’ve seen in earnest the perpetual flaws that are likely to prevent either winning it.

The consistency just hasn’t been there for either side over the past 12 months, and it seems that unless they don’t get a big display from an individual, ultimately both teams fall short of the very highest standards.

If it wasn’t for McCullum, the hosts would have been on the end of a really embarrassing defeat here. For the remainder of this seven-match series, it’ll be intriguing to see if any players in black raise their game to match the continued stellar output from their skipper. If they're to stop Sri Lanka, it's vital that they do.