Watch: Finn Allen gets lucky escape after ball hits off stump but bails refuse to fall during 1st ODI vs Sri Lanka
Finn Allen had Lady Luck to thank after a delivery in the third over of New Zealand's innings hit his off stump, but the bails didn't fall off. The opener went on to score a half-century.
New Zealand began their three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka on a dominating note, winning the first fixture by 198 runs at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday. Chasing a target of 275 runs, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 76 in 19.5 overs, facing a total collapse. Henry Shipley was in amazing form for New Zealand's bowling department, taking five wickets. Meanwhile, Daryl Mitchell and Blair Tickner bagged two dismissals each.
Initially, New Zealand were bowled out for 274 in 49.3 overs, with Finn Allen top-scoring with a knock of 51 runs off 49 balls. Meanwhile, Chamika Karunaratne took four wickets for the visitors, Kasun Rajitha and Lahiru Kumara scalped two dismissals each. Opener Allen was in good batting form, smacking five fours and two sixes during his knock.
Also Read | 'I noticed Smith saying...': Ashwin spots plotting against Kohli and Pandya
Allen also had Lady Luck to thank, after almost losing his wicket in the third over. His off stump was hit by a delivery from Rajitha, when he was on nine. But the bails didn't move so the umpire didn't send him back to the pavilion. Here is the video:
26-year-old Shipley received the Player of the Match award for his fifer. The right-arm medium fast bowler recently made his debut in January this year, and will expect to be in contention for the ODI World Cup, scheduled for later this year. The second ODI of the three-match series is scheduled for March 28 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
After his knock vs Sri Lanka, Allen said, “With the base that we had, we could have looked to push for a few more. It's certainly a score I think we are pretty happy with on that wicket. It was certainly a tricky wicket. The way Karunaratne bowled through the middle, hit his lengths nice, got a little bit of seam movement and made it tough for us. We pushed at times but wickets in clumps stunted our score.”
"It's a little bit frustrating not to kick on, pretty soft I suppose, but first game of cricket in a while, so I was just happy to get out there and get a game with the boys", he further added.
New Zealand also recently defeated Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series, which also saw the visitors gift the WTC final berth to India. New Zealand won the first Test match by two wickets, followed by clinching victory by an innings and 58 runs in the second Test.
