New-look New Zealand make an impressive comeback against Sri Lanka: Player Ratings for the hosts

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New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by a 2-1 margin

Against all odds, New Zealand made a good comeback in the format they have been struggling in recently – the T20Is. Despite not having the likes of Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner and Devon Conway, the Blackcaps handed Sri Lanka a 2-1 series defeat, making a comeback with two consecutive wins after losing the first game.

Let us check out the report card of the New Zealand players:

Batters

Chad Bowes (4/10): Chad Bowes has had to wait very long for opportunities in international cricket, making his debut only in his thirties. But now that he has been given the chance, the batter is not quite justifying his selection in the New Zealand team.

The opener scored only 50 runs in the series, with an average of 16.66 and a strike rate of 138.88. He scored just 2 runs in the first match at Auckland but did well to score 31 runs in the second match at Dunedin. However, the third game was again a letdown as he could score only 17 runs.

Tim Seifert (10/10): With the big names busy in the Indian Premier League, Tim Seifert turned up the heat and emerged as New Zealand’s best batter in this series. He scored 167 runs at a superb average of 23.50 and a strike rate of 177.65.

Tim Seifert had a great time with the bat

Though Seifert was dismissed for a duck in the first match, he played an amazing knock of 79 runs in the second match at Dunedin. His performance in the third match at Queenstown was even better, as he scored 88 runs in that encounter.

Tom Latham (7/10): Captaining the team in the absence of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham had a fairly satisfactory outing against Sri Lanka. The left-handed batter scored 78 runs at an average of 39 and a strike rate of 113.04.

Though the lad from Canterbury did not get any fifties to his name, he got starts in all three matches. Latham scored 27 runs at Auckland, 20 runs at Dunedin and then had his best knock at Queenstown, where he scored 31 runs.

Mark Chapman (5/10): Mark Chapman definitely has the faith of the Kiwi team management, as he is nearing his 50th T20I appearance for the team. But it is about time he steps up his performance, as the series against Sri Lanka was not very smooth for him.

Chapman scored 49 runs in two innings, at an average of 24.50 and a strike rate of 140.00. He scored 33 runs in the first match but did not get a chance to bat in the second match. In the last match, he scored only 16 runs.

All-rounders

Daryl Mitchell (8/10): Like Seifert, Daryl Mitchell also turned up at a time when many experienced players were missing from the New Zealand team sheet. He scored 81 runs at an average of 40.50 and a strike rate of 135, though he did not get a chance to bowl.

Mitchell’s best performance came in a losing cause in the first match at Auckland, where he scored 66 runs. After not getting a chance to bat at Dunedin, he scored 15 runs in the third match at Queenstown.

James Neesham (6/10): James Neesham had a hot-and-cold outing in this series. He could not deliver with the bat, having scored only 19 runs at an average of 9.50. But the all-rounder did have a good time with the ball in hand, picking up 3 wickets.

The first match at Auckland went according to plans for Neesham, as he scored 19 runs and also picked up 2 wickets. He added another wicket to his tally at the Dunedin game but went wicketless at Queenstown and was also dismissed for a duck.

Rachin Ravindra (4/10): Expectations are huge from Rachin Ravindra, the young all-rounder from Wellington. However, he could not show glimpses of his huge potential in this series, as he scored only 28 and picked up just a single wicket.

The 23-year-old scored 26 runs at Auckland but did not get a chance to bowl. He picked up 1 wicket in the second game at Dunedin, while in the Queenstown affair, he went wicketless and contributed 2 runs with the bat.

Bowlers

Adam Milne (9/10): Adam Milne was New Zealand’s star with the ball, as most of the Sri Lankan batters had no answers to his pace and swing. He picked up 7 wickets in this series, at an average of 14 and an economy rate of 8.16 runs per over.

Adam Milne was New Zealand’s leading wicket-taker

The pacer picked up 1 wicket in the first match, but in the second match at Dunedin was when he showed his true potential by picking up a five-wicket haul. In the last match, he picked up a wicket by conceding 30 runs.

Matt Henry (2/10): Matt Henry was not given chances in the first two matches, but when he finally managed to get into the playing XI at Queenstown, he could not grab the opportunity. In his quota of four overs, Henry conceded 33 runs without picking up any wickets.

Ben Lister (6/10): Ben Lister got a real thrashing when he came to India earlier this year, but his performance was much better in this series. The pacer picked up 5 wickets in three matches, with his bowling average being 21.20.

The lad from Auckland picked up a solitary wicket in the first match but also conceded 43 runs. He picked up 2 wickets by conceding 26 runs in the second match, while in the last outing at Queenstown, he registered figures of 2/37.

Ish Sodhi (5/10): Ish Sodhi’s numbers in this series can be examined from two angles. On one hand, he failed to be a prime wicket-taking option for his team, having scalped just 1 wicket. But on the other hand, he was also his team’s most economical bowler, with an economy rate of 7.27 runs per over.

In the first match, he conceded 33 runs without picking up any wickets. After registering figures of 0/17 at Dunedin, he finally managed to get amongst wickets with a 1/30 return in the last game.

Henry Shipley (4/10): Making his T20I debut for New Zealand, Henry Shipley did not have a great time against the Sri Lankans. In his two appearances, he picked up 2 wickets at an average of 34 and an economy rate of 9.71 runs per over.

He picked up 1 wicket by conceding 43 runs in the first match. Shipley’s performance in the second match was much better, as he conceded 25 runs in his three-over spell and also picked up the wicket of Kusal Mendis.

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