Sri Lanka gets derailed against revamped New Zealand in T20Is: Player Ratings for the visitors

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New Zealand will return from India empty-handed

Sri Lanka’s poor run in the shortest format of the game continued, as they suffered a 1-2 defeat against New Zealand in the recently concluded three-match series. Though they won the first match in a thrilling super over, the Kiwis emerged victorious in the next two matches.

Let us check out the report card of the Sri Lankan players:

Batters

Pathum Nissanka (3/10): Sri Lanka has high hopes for Pathum Nissanka, mainly due to the promise he has shown in the early stages of his international career, but he could not live up to the expectations in this series. Nissanka scored just 34 runs at an average of 11.33 and a strike rate of 97.14.

In the first match at Auckland, he was dismissed for a duck. The 24-year-old failed in the second match at Dunedin as well, scoring just 9 runs. It was in the last game at Queenstown that he finally managed to get some runs under his belt, scoring 25 runs.

Kusal Mendis (8/10): Kusal Mendis proved yet again why he is regarded as among the most reliable players for Sri Lanka in the shortest format of the game. In difficult conditions, he did a fairly decent job by scoring 108 runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 174.19.

Mendis scored 25 runs in the first match at Auckland, but the game at Dunedin did not go according to the plan as he was out for only 10 runs. The 28-year-old played a fabulous knock in the last game at Queenstown, scoring 73 runs.

Kusal Perera (9/10): While Mendis was much better than most of Sri Lanka’s batters, it was Kusal Perera who scored the most runs for his team. The veteran scored 121 runs at an average of 60.50, while his strike rate was 123.46.

Kusal Perera scored the most runs for Sri Lanka

He got off to a great start in the series, scoring a half-century in the first match at Auckland. Though Perera could not score any further fifties in the series, he got into the thirties in the next two matches – 35 runs at Dunedin and 33 runs at Queenstown.

Charith Asalanka (7/10): Besides Mendis and Perera, Charith Asalanka is the only Sri Lankan batter who managed to score a half-century in this series. The left-handed batter scored 94 runs, with his average being 31.33 and a strike rate of 142.42.

His fifty came in the first match against Auckland, where he struck 67 runs. The next two matches did not go according to the plans though, as the 25-year-old scored 24 runs in the second match and only 3 runs in the last game.

All-rounders

Dhananjaya de Silva (6/10): Dhananjaya de Silva was not really consistent for Sri Lanka, but he still managed to score 72 runs in the series. The all-rounder had an average of 24 and a highly impressive strike rate of 160, though he could not do anything notable with the ball.

The lad from Colombo scored only 15 runs in the first T20I, but the second game is when he showed his true potential, scoring 37 runs at Dunedin. The last game at Queenstown was again a bit of a letdown, scoring 20 runs.

Dasun Shanaka (4/10): Dasun Shanaka will be coming to India for the Indian Premier League straight after this series, but his form is not totally impressive. The captain scored just 23 runs at an average of 7.66, though he made up for it by picking up 2 wickets.

Those two wickets came in the first match itself, but Shanaka failed to match the standards that were expected from him over the next two matches. He scored just 7 runs in the second match and 15 runs in the third.

Wanindu Hasaranga (3/10): Wanindu Hasaranga is the X-factor for Sri Lanka in T20I cricket, but with the pitches in New Zealand not being conducive for the spinners, he had a tough time making inroads against the Kiwis. The all-rounder picked up just 2 wickets and scored 30 runs.

The first match was when Hasaranga was at his best, he picked up 2 important wickets and also scored 21 crucial runs. However, in the next two matches, he scored just 9 runs and failed to add to his wickets column.

Chamika Karunaratne (2/10): Chamika Karunaratne just got one opportunity in this series, which was in the first game at Auckland, but he could not utilise that chance to nail his place in the playing XI. The all-rounder did not get a chance to bat and scored 36 runs in three overs, without picking up any wickets.

Bowlers

Maheesh Theekshana (6/10): Maheesh Theekshana did not pick as many wickets as his team would have ideally wanted him to, but he still should be proud of his performance. Besides picking 2 wickets, Theekshana was superbly economical for the Lankans, with his economy rate being just 5.16 runs per over.

Maheesh Theekshana was Sri Lanka’s most economical bowler

The off-spinner picked up one wicket by conceding 22 runs in the first match at Auckland. Though he went wicketless in the second match, the youngster returned well to once again register figures of 1/22 in the third match.

Dilshan Madushanka (2/10): Dilshan Madushanka is among the most promising young pacers Sri Lanka currently has in their arsenal, but he will not be happy with his performance in this series. He conceded 63 runs at an economy rate of 15.75 runs per over while picking just one wicket.

Though he dismissed Chad Bowes in the first match, Madushanka also conceded 45 runs in the three overs that he bowled. He conceded 18 runs in his only over in the second match, before being axed from the team.

Pramod Madushan (5/10): Pramod Madushan was the joint-highest wicket-taker in this series, but he also turned out to be very expensive. He picked up 3 wickets in the three games but also conceded 96 runs at an economy rate of 9.60 runs per over.

He was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s win in the first match, picking up 2 wickets by conceding 37 runs. Madushan went wicketless in the second match, and though he picked up a wicket in the third game, the right-arm pacer also conceded 38 runs.

Lahiru Kumara (6/10): Lahiru Kumara’s story is a lot like Madushan. He too picked up 3 wickets, despite having played just one match, but was also expensive – conceding 38 runs in 3.5 overs at an economy rate of 9.91 runs per over.

Kumara played only in the last game at Queenstown, where he picked up three wickets – Bowes, Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman. 

Kasun Rajitha (2/10): Among Sri Lanka’s pacers, Kasun Rajitha registered the worst figures in this series. He was given two chances but could pick just 1 wicket, while he was expensive as well, conceding 59 runs in six overs at an economy rate of 9.83 runs per over.

In his first game at Dunedin, he picked up a wicket but conceded 25 runs in two matches. In the next match at Queenstown, he bowled his full quota of four overs but couldn’t pick up any wickets, conceding 34 runs.

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