WC 2015

Scorecard - 1st Match, Pool A, New Zealand vs Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand (13 Feb 2015)

New Zealand

331/6 (50) RR:6.62

New Zealand won by 98 runs

MOM: Corey Anderson

Sri Lanka

233/10 (46.1) RR:5.05

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49.4 - N Kulasekara to Ronchi, FOUR, Kulasekara misses the yorker and Ronchi makes him pay. Full and outside off, Ronchi crashes the drive, beating sweeper cover. Terrific timing on the stroke

49.1 - N Kulasekara to Corey Anderson, FOUR, slower ball, from back of the hand, it turns out to be short, sits up to be pulled and Anderson just does that, beating fine leg, who was very square, Anderson had made room to go over the off-side, but readjusted well

48.4 - Malinga to Corey Anderson, FOUR, Anderson now goes way outside off and paddles Malinga over backward square leg, one bounce over the ropes, Anderson knew that Malinga would go full and wide outside off, so a terrific piece of guess work from the big lad, Malinga didn't get the yorker right, it turned out to be easy for Anderson

47.2 - N Kulasekara to Corey Anderson, FOUR, 50 for Corey Anderson and he has hit another one very, very hard. Beats long-off's dive as he bullets a drive

45.4 - Lakmal to Ronchi, FOUR, Lakmal bowls a full toss down leg, easy for Ronchi who swings it to the fine leg fence, beating short fine inside the ring. Bad bowling, but his fielders have let him down today

45.2 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, FOUR, now sliced away! Anderson showing that he is not only about power, he can play with finesse too, opens the face of the bat and gets it over the leaping point fielder

45.1 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, FOUR, Ian Smith on air is right. That is life-threatening! Both Lakmal and Llong were ducking for cover. Marmalised by Anderson as he smashes the length ball over the right ear of Lakmal. It was hit with tremendous power, good job that both bowler and umpire missed the ball. Llong has a wry smile on his face after getting up

44.4 - Malinga to Ronchi, FOUR, what a shot that is! Ronchi arched back and somehow steered it over the point region, deliberately played in the air and he gets a boundary. It wasn't a bad delivery at all, just the quick hands of Ronchi and the execution was what really produced such a fine result. Exceptional stroke

44.2 - Malinga to Ronchi, FOUR, poor delivery and Ronchi will get off the mark with a fine glance, down leg, glanced away beating short fine inside the ring

43.3 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, FOUR, if you don't get it right against Anderson, he will put you away, overpitched outside off, Anderson bends down and slices it away over cover, long-off can't reach in time to cut it off

42.1 - N Kulasekara to Elliott, FOUR, Elliott gets a boundary away first ball to put some pressure on Kulasekara, comes down the track and makes room, slices over mid-off for a boundary. The fielder was inside the ring and Elliott made full use of that

40.5 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, FOUR, Corey Anderson has brutalised that. Lakmal went for the wide yorker and Anderson smashes it wide of cover and beats sweeper, fiercely struck and the ball raced away

38.3 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, FOUR, Anderson gets lucky now. The inside edge just narrowly misses the off stump, Anderson went hard on the cut and the resultant edge ran away to the fine leg fence

36.4 - Dilshan to Elliott, FOUR, Dilshan thought he was close to getting Elliott out lbw, but Elliott got a bottom edge on the sweep, that beats short fine inside the ring on the way to a boundary

33.0 - Dilshan to Williamson, FOUR, magnificent batting from Kane! A step out and it looked a flick for two, but such was the crispness of the shot that it shooted away beating wide long-on, great work with the wrists from Williamson. He is turning it on now

31.2 - N Kulasekara to Williamson, FOUR, heaved away! Williamson picks the length delivery and goes over mid-wicket, intentionally hit and beautifully placed. Hallmark of Williamson's innings

29.4 - Mathews to Williamson, FOUR, that should ease some pressure. Williamson saw the back of a length delivery outside off and he took a step out of his crease to pull it wide of long-on, well hit and it's a much needed boundary

23.4 - Herath to Williamson, FOUR, even though Williamson didn't get to the pitch of it, he still went through with the slog sweep, got it over mid-wicket and it's a boundary

22.1 - Lakmal to Guptill, FOUR, Crunched! Guptill's eyes lit up after he saw the short ball outside off, pulled it with disdain and found the deep mid-wicket boundary. Sweet sound as the ball crashed into the ropes

18.5 - Lakmal to Williamson, FOUR, unlucky for Lakmal, Williamson gets lucky though, reached out to slap it through the off-side, gets a thick inside edge, which misses the stumps and wrong-foots Sanga, before running away to the fence

13.2 - Herath to Guptill, FOUR, the 100-run stand has come up with a beautiful shot! Lots of flight from Herath, way outside off and Guptill reached out to loft over cover, beat long-off easily

12.5 - Mathews to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, McCullum picks the slower delivery and goes over mid-off, knew he had to clear the man and did so well. Crouched a bit and got enough power on the hit

12.2 - Mathews to Guptill, FOUR, Guptill takes on Mathews and gets a boundary. On a length and outside off, Guptill lifted it over mid-on and gets himself a four. Nicely hit!

11.5 - Herath to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, comes down the track and goes back over the bowler's head. Cracking shot. Got to the pitch and smoked it away. Utter disdain shown!

8.4 - Mathews to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, that is brute power. Short and wide outside off, McCullum whiplashed a cut and beat sweeper to his left. The ball had too much timing on that for the fielder. McCullum has raced to 42 off 23. This is becoming a nightmare for Sri Lanka

8.0 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, make that 23 off the over! Low full toss, down leg, easy peasy for McCullum as he flicks and beats deep mid-wicket running across

7.5 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, McCullum is in fine nick. Another boundary to him. On a short of length outside off, McCullum arched back and placed the cut wide of the off-side cordon. Fun time for New Zealand!

7.2 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, no ball, FOUR, Malinga is struggling here. Oversteps and delivers a full toss on the pads, flicked away emphatically and it beats deep square to his left

7.1 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, this time McCullum picks the slower delivery which was a full toss below waist height, he swings it to the deep backward square leg fence, no-one there and that will be a gift of a boundary

4.4 - N Kulasekara to Guptill, FOUR, now on the off-side. Fraction short outside off and width on offer, Guptill lashes a cut to the left of cover-point and once it's hit in the gap, it just runs away

4.3 - N Kulasekara to Guptill, FOUR, neatly done by Guptill. Short fine was inside the ring and deftly glanced away past that man. Poor bowling though as Kulasekara errs down leg

2.5 - N Kulasekara to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, this boundary was all about placement and sans any power. It was on a back of a length outside off, McCullum opens the face of the bat and guides it to the left of the diving backward point, he is inside the ring and can't stop it as the ball eludes his grasp

1.5 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, two balls and two boundaries for McCullum. Cracking shot again. It wasn't short, but McCullum rocked back and thumped it past the diving short cover. He surely doesn't need any sighters, this fella - Brendon McCullum! Malinga just blows some air and walks back to his mark

1.0 - N Kulasekara to Brendon McCullum, FOUR, an emphatic statement first up from McCullum! What a shot that is from the Kiwi skipper. It was overpitched outside off and McCullum just laced that up and over cover, no-one moved and the ball rocketed away. First boundary of the World Cup

47.3 - N Kulasekara to Corey Anderson, SIX, take that Kulasekara says Anderson. Goes outside off and takes the full toss on, tonking it high over long-on, clears the man easily. These runs could well prove to be the difference in the end

37.0 - Dilshan to Corey Anderson, SIX, Chandimal flew spectacularly at long-on and got a hand on that effort. He ran to his right and flew, eventually he parried it over the ropes. Mathews shakes his head. Anderson charged Dilshan and dragged the loft, got lucky. It seemed to be a misjudgement from Chandimal

31.3 - N Kulasekara to Williamson, SIX, has that been caught one-handed in the crowd? Looks like it! The gentleman has gone bonkers! Yes, it has been taken! 100,000$ is the prize for that effort. What a shot that is from Williamson first up, steps out and makes room to loft the slower delivery over long-off, another spectator was coming across to catch it but the one who took it, kept his cool and managed to pull it off. Then he celebrated wildly

7.2 - Malinga to Brendon McCullum, SIX, Smashed! McCullum picked the slower delivery and made room to launch it straight back over the bowler's head. That will be the first six of the 2015 World Cup Malinga puts his head down and walks back. Didn't get the ball right in the blockhole and was made to pay the price for it

50.0 - N Kulasekara to Corey Anderson, out Caught by Lakmal!! End of Anderson and end of New Zealand. Low full toss outside off, Anderson hit that hard and towards cover, Lakmal jumped and got both hands, it popped up first time, but he hung on as he tumbled to ground, relief after having caught it. Corey Anderson c Lakmal b N Kulasekara 75(46) [4s-8 6s-2]

43.5 - Lakmal to Elliott, out Caught by Thirimanne!! The umpires are checking for a possible waist-high no-ball. They want to be doubly sure. It looks marginal. Given out. Full toss, swung straight to the fielder at deep square leg, Thiri takes a comfortable catch. Elliott should've hit that out of the park. Elliott c Thirimanne b Lakmal 29(34) [4s-2]

33.4 - J Mendis to Ross Taylor, out Stumped!! Brave bowling by Mendis, throwing the ball up and deceiving Taylor, the batsman lost his footing in trying to drive and even despite a fumble from Sanga, he recovered to break the stumps. The left hand without the ball was close to the stumps, but the right hand did the job. The third umpire took his time before arriving at the decision. Mendis is now on a hat-trick. Ross Taylor st Sangakkara b J Mendis 14(28)

33.3 - J Mendis to Williamson, out Caught by D Karunaratne!! Superb catch and Williamson is gone. Down the track and took it on the full, didn't hit it as well as he would've liked to, still it looked like that it would elude long-on, but Karuna ran to his right and dived to take it with both hands. He was airborne when he took it and the ball stuck when his elbows hit the ground. Mendis is a happy man and so are the Lankans. Williamson c D Karunaratne b J Mendis 57(65) [4s-5 6s-1]

22.2 - Lakmal to Guptill, out Caught by Sangakkara!! Sanga holds on this time. Guptill is furious with himself for throwing away a start. He keeps shaking his head as he walks back. Nothing shot as he guides it to the right of the keeper who dives and grabs it with both hands. Sanga is a relieved man. Lakmal is all pumped up. Guptill c Sangakkara b Lakmal 49(62) [4s-5]

15.5 - Herath to Brendon McCullum, out Caught by J Mendis!! Well held by Mendis! McCullum goes after a brilliant knock. Made room and lifted that high up, lots of height in the shot, Mendis stationed at long-off kept his eyes and took it with both hands over his shoulder, the right leg was firmly planted on the ground, while the left leg balanced itself so that his body's momentum doesn't take him over the ropes. Superbly judged aerial take and Sri Lanka desperately needed that wicket. Brendon McCullum c J Mendis b Herath 65(49) [4s-10 6s-1]

45.3 - Lakmal to Corey Anderson, 3 runs, dropped by Mendis. What's worse he is having a smile about it. Mathews looks very glum. High full toss and it was hit straight up in the air, Mendis ran from cover and got both hands to the skier, but it slipped out of his grasp and went to ground, they take three and that will hurt even more, it was never a three there

29.0 - N Kulasekara to Williamson, 1 run, almost a stunner from Mathews at cover! Williamson hit that hard and was aiming over cover, Mathews leapt high and got a hand to it, parried it over the bar, goalie style, the rebound didn't carry as far as mid-off. If Mathews had grabbed it, it would've been a beauty

16.1 - Lakmal to Williamson, no run, dropped by Sanga! Lakmal should've got a wicket first ball on World Cup debut. Bowled it on a fuller length and drew the outside edge, it was going to the right of Sanga who went with it one-handed, got it and then it slipped out. Thirimanne consoles Sanga by patting him on the back. How costly will that prove?

31.5 - N Kulasekara to Williamson, 1 run, whipped through mid-wicket

11.4 - Herath to Brendon McCullum, 2 runs, that's fifty for McCullum! Cut away for a couple and gets a good reception from the Hagley Oval crowd

43.3 - Southee to Herath, FOUR, Herath can bat! Width on offer outside off, Herath carves a square cut between point and cover. No-one sweeping on the off-side and it's a boundary

40.4 - Corey Anderson to Herath, FOUR, that is a nice stroke. A tad overpitched outside off, Herath opens the face of the bat and drives over the leaping point, connected well and gets a boundary

39.1 - Southee to Mathews, FOUR, that is a top shot! Backs away and slashes it to deep backward point, the ball was bouncing but Mathews got on top of the bounce. Knew the fielders were inside the ring and executed it beautifully

38.4 - Corey Anderson to Mathews, FOUR, cut to the left of Kane at point, he dives over the ball and can't run back to prevent the boundary. He tried to get after the ball, but it beat him. Should've been saved that

37.5 - Southee to Mathews, FOUR, this time he connects with the pull, short delivery from Southee, Mathews got into position quickly and pulls it in the air over square leg, the ball bounced only a couple of times before reaching the fence

34.0 - Milne to N Kulasekara, FOUR, fabulous shot! It was overpitched on off and middle, Kulasekara presents the full face of the bat and drives it beautifully straight down the ground. No chance for either mid-on or mid-off to stop that

31.5 - Milne to J Mendis, FOUR, Mendis makes full use of the free-hit. Banged in halfway down the wicket, Mendis makes room and swats it high and towards deep mid-wicket, Anderson runs across, dives with one hand trying to catch the ball, but the ball eluded him

30.3 - Vettori to Mathews, FOUR, a rare loose delivery from Vettori, rank long hop on middle and leg, Mathews has all the time in the world to rock back and pull it over mid-wicket. That should make him feel good

24.0 - Boult to Mathews, FOUR, in the channel around off, Mathews is squared up completely, gets a thick outside edge to third man. The fielder runs across, puts in the dive and fails to save the boundary

23.3 - Boult to Sangakkara, FOUR, that had four written all over it, not a muscle moved in the field. It was full on off and middle, Sangakkara presents the straight bat and plays the perfect on-drive. The mid-on fielder was square and had no chance of stopping that

19.1 - Boult to Sangakkara, FOUR, Sri Lanka might have shifted gears here. Sangakkara charges Boult and lofts it over mid-off, he just about eluded Baz's leap there. He tried to catch it with his right hand, but the ball was well over him

19.0 - Elliott to Thirimanne, FOUR, superb shot! Thirimanne spotted the slower one early, he went through with the shot, hit it through the line over mid-off. The ball bounces once before reaching the fence

17.1 - Boult to Sangakkara, FOUR, how good was the timing on that? It just looked good for a couple, but the ball kept racing away. Full on middle and leg, Sangakkara leans forward and flicks it elegantly to the left of deep backward square, there was a fielder there but he could only watch the ball reach the fence

15.5 - Milne to Sangakkara, FOUR, poor bowling from Milne, strays it onto the pads, Sangakkara stays inside the line and tickles it fine, beats Vettori in the deep. Sangakkara now goes past Ricky Ponting in the leading run-scorers chart in ODIs, he is second on the list behind Sachin Tendulkar. He also brings up 1000 runs in World Cups

15.4 - Milne to Sangakkara, FOUR, cracking shot! Pitched up outside off, Sangakkara bends his back leg and drives it beautifully through extra cover, Baz gives chase from mid-off only to come second

11.4 - Milne to Thirimanne, FOUR, superb batting! The short delivery from Milne, it was just outside off, that allowed Thirimanne to arch back and ramp it over the keeper's head. The pace of Milne almost takes it the distance

11.2 - Milne to Thirimanne, FOUR, top shot! Someone shouted "catch it", but nobody moved. It was pitched up outside off, Thirimanne gets a good stride forward and drives it in the air over extra cover. He held his pose as well for the photographers

8.5 - Southee to Thirimanne, FOUR, Thirimanne takes toll of that field placement, just a bit of width on offer, he does not try to do anything fancy, uses the pace on the ball and guides it between backward point and short third man. That was deftly done by Thirimanne

7.5 - Boult to Thirimanne, FOUR, Thirimanne by playing the previous shot has made Boult do something different. Dug in mid-way down the wicket, Thirimanne was waiting for it, he swivelled and pulled it up and over square leg for the second boundary of the over

7.4 - Boult to Thirimanne, FOUR, lovely shot! Thirimanne had to improvise and he did it to perfection. He moved away to the leg-side, gave himself the much needed room and creamed the drive through extra cover

6.3 - Southee to Dilshan, FOUR, Dilshan releases some pressure that was being built up. Southee drops it short and doesn't get to rear up, Dilshan even though mistimed the pull, he got it in the gap. Places it behind square and picks up a boundary

5.3 - Boult to Thirimanne, FOUR, drilled! It was overpitched from Boult, Thirimanne gets a good stride forward and hammers the drive to the left of mid-off, Baz dives in vain

1.5 - Boult to Dilshan, FOUR, streaky! Dilshan gets lucky with a french cut. He saw the width on that and threw his bat at it, the ball takes the under-edge and goes past the stumps. It was very close to the off-pole

1.1 - Boult to Thirimanne, FOUR, Guptill does the hard work, but fails to stop the ball. Back of a length and just a bit of width on offer, Thirimanne stands tall and punches it square of the wicket, Guptill gives chase from point, slides and gets a hand on the ball, but the ball still rolls to the rope. He apologised immediately to the bowler

46.1 - Corey Anderson to Herath, out Caught by Milne!! New Zealand thrash Sri Lanka! The first game of the tournament ends and it's the co-hosts who have come out on top. The slower delivery does the trick for Corey Anderson, Herath early into the drive and spoons a catch to cover. Milne accepts the dolly. Herath c Milne b Corey Anderson 13(19) [4s-2]

41.5 - Southee to Malinga, out Caught by Ronchi!! Malinga is out for a golden duck. Good pacy back of a length delivery outside off, Malinga was backing away and fended out, an easy catch as the outside edge is found. NZ one wicket away from a win. Malinga c Ronchi b Southee 0(1)

41.2 - Southee to Mathews, out Caught by Vettori!! End of Mathews and probably end of Sri Lanka as well. You can safely say that it's almost over for Sri Lanka. Hang on! Are they checking for the back foot no-ball? Yes they are and Southee is fine. His heel was in the air and didn't land, cutting the side crease. Mathews charged Southee and top-edged the pull, as the ball got big on him, Vettori ran in from mid-on and took a good running catch. Mathews c Vettori b Southee 46(52) [4s-5]

38.2 - Corey Anderson to N Kulasekara, out Caught by Elliott!! Anderson's fine match continues. After some runs with the bat, he picks up his first wicket. Kulasekara charges down, makes room and looks to free his arms, Anderson bowls it wide outside off, Kula reaches out and slices it in the air towards sweeper cover, Elliott runs forward, settles under it and takes a low catch. New Zealand inch closer towards victory. N Kulasekara c Elliott b Corey Anderson 10(21) [4s-1]

32.0 - Milne to J Mendis, out Caught by Ronchi!! Second wicket of the over and Milne troubling the Sri Lankan batsmen with his pace. It was short and aimed at the batsman, Mendis stays inside the line and tries to pull, gets top-edge that brushes his right shoulder on the way to Ronchi. Umpire Erasmus didn't think there was an edge, but he got it wrong as Mendis got a feather on that. Top review from McCullum, who took the word of Ronchi. J Mendis c Ronchi b Milne 4(4) [4s-1]

31.3 - Milne to D Karunaratne, out Bowled!! Cleaned up! The ploy to come round the wicket has worked for Milne. It is a dream delivery for any pacer, hitting the top of off-stump. Angled in from outside off, Karunaratne plays inside the line and looks to punch, is beaten for pace and the ball clatters into off-stump. The youngster pumps his fists in celebration. D Karunaratne b Milne 14(21)

23.5 - Boult to Sangakkara, out Lbw!! Three wickets in as many overs and New Zealand are right on top of the game. It was the attempted yorker from Boult, Sangakkara skips out of the crease and tries to take it on the full, he fails to get bat on that and is hit right in front of off-stump. Boult knew he had his man and umpire Erasmus just confirmed that. Sangakkara lbw b Boult 39(38) [4s-5]

23.0 - Vettori to M Jayawardene, out Caught by Ronchi!! What an inspired bowling change by Baz. He brought in Vettori as soon as MJ walked out and the veteran has paid him with the wicket of Mahela. Jayawardene goes without troubling the scorers. He also walked and didn't wait for the umpire to raise his finger. It was fraction quicker than the previous deliveries, looked to steer it even though there was a slip, ends up nicking it to the keeper. Massive wicket for New Zealand. M Jayawardene c Ronchi b Vettori 0(4)

22.0 - Boult to Thirimanne, out Bowled!! Knocked him over! A top delivery from Boult. He is pumped up. This was a full delivery that angled in and shaped away at the last instant, Thirimanne plays down the wrong line, loses his off-pole in the process. A very important wicket for the Black Caps as Thiri looked in fine form. Thirimanne b Boult 65(60) [4s-8]

13.0 - Vettori to Dilshan, out Caught&Bowled!! Excellent bowling from the veteran. Dilshan looks at the deck as he makes the walk back to the pavilion. That was superbly bowled by Vettori, who slowed it up considerably than his previous deliveries, Dilshan was early into the shot, he checks it and lobs an easy return catch. A much needed wicket for New Zealand that. Dilshan c and b Vettori 24(41) [4s-2]

36.4 - Corey Anderson to N Kulasekara, no run, dropped! Taylor puts down a sitter. This was a regulation catch. Short of a length and around off, Kulasekara looks to force it off the back foot, the ball flies to the left of Taylor, who is standing at a wide slip position. He gets both hands and parries it to Ronchi, he gets a glove but can't react fast enough to hold on

16.2 - Elliott to Thirimanne, 1 run, Baz almost pulls off a stunner! The slower delivery from Elliott, Thirimanne is deceived by the lack of pace, he checks his shot and ends up spooning it towards short mid-wicket. McCullum leaped up and got his left hand to it, but fails to hang on. He was a tad early in the jump, had he timed it better, he might have held onto it

16.4 - Elliott to Thirimanne, 1 run, fifty for Thirimanne, waits for this length delivery and guides it square of the wicket. It is his 11th ODI fifty