New Zealand levelled the five-match T20I series against South Africa with a dominant performance in Hamilton. After being put in to bat on a surface the women’s sides praised for its batter friendliness, New Zealand relied on Devon Conway’s experience to post a challenging target.

They may even have felt they left a few runs out there as few stayed with Conway with the 48-run opening stand their highest. South Africa’s spinners were particularly expensive as Keshav Maharaj and George Linde conceded 78 runs in the six overs they bowled.

In the end, New Zealand scored exactly the same number of runs as they posted just over a month ago against South Africa, in the group game of the T20 World Cup. Then, South Africa eased to the target with 17 balls to spare. This time, they were bowled out for their 10th lowest score in the format: an exact mirror of what New Zealand’s line-up did in the first match. Only Linde scored more than 30 as Ben Sears and Lockie Ferguson took six wickets between them in an incisive display of quick bowling.

With South Africa women winning earlier in the day, both the men’s and women’s series are locked at 1-1.

Conway collects his highest in two years

Conway didn’t get any games at the T20 World Cup but showed he still has plenty to offer with an innings that provided a solid foundation for New Zealand to build on. He was productive on the leg-side from the get-go, when he flicked the first ball of the match through mid-wicket for four and scored 80% of his runs in that half of the field. That included both his sixes: the slog-sweep off Keshav Maharaj in the over after the Powerplay and his launch over long-on off Wiaan Mulder which brought up his fifty off 39 balls. Conway has not scored this many runs in 20 T20I innings, since February 2024. He was ready to up the ante as New Zealand entered the last five overs and tried to pull Wiaan Mulder but was cramped for room and top-edged. New Zealand were 124 for 4 with 27 deliveries remaining.

South Africa’s death bowling misses a trick

With Conway dismissed, and New Zealand 126 for 5 after 16 overs, South Africa had the opportunity to keep the hosts under 160 but their death bowling plans faltered. Nqobani Mokeona, the 19-year old, bowled a good 17th over that cost only seven runs and finished with excellent figures of 0 for 22 in four overs. Gerald Coetzee’s final over went for eight runs and brought the wicket of Jimmy Neesham before Ottneil Baartman’s last over cost 10 runs.

Keshav Maharaj came on to bowl at the end, and it went awry. Cole McConchie advanced on him to hit the first ball for six and then Josh Clarkson plundered 16 runs off the four deliveries. Maharaj’s plan to go wide of the stumps didn’t work as Clarkson chased it and finished unbeaten on 26* off nine balls. What may irk Maharaj most is that he had another option. Wiaan Mulder, playing a T20I for the first time since September 2024, bowled two overs for 14 runs and could have had one towards the end of the innings. South Africa conceded 42 runs in the last three overs.

New Zealand’s hat-trick of early strikes

South Africa were off to a solid start on 24 without loss after the first three overs but then trouble struck. In the fifth over, Connor Esterhuizen thought he had carved Sears in front of backward point, but Tim Robinson timed his jump well to take a good catch. In the next over, Mulder, opening for the first time in T20Is, worked his way to 16 off 20 balls before he also tried to cut but was beaten by turn and bounce from Mitchell Santer and caught in the covers. With both openers dismissed early, South Africa would have been looking for a big performance from Tony de Zorzi, the No.3 who was originally part of the T20 World Cup squad. But the left-hander fell victim to the McConchie curse (remember he dismissed Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in the T20 World Cup semi-final?) and top-edged a sweep to short fine. South Africa were 31 for 3 in the seventh over.

Santner gets Smith again and Sears steals the show

It’s gone from tough to tougher for finisher Jason Smith, who has been dismissed by New Zealand’s captain in successive matches. Smith was stumped for 10 in the first T20I off Santner’s bowling, as he lunged forward, and this time was caught for 12 as he top-edged a sweep. Smith handed a simple catch to Sears at short fine and will be concerned with his lack of runs on the tour so far. Sensing an opportunity to finish things off quickly, Santner brought Sears back on to replace and kill the game. Sears responded to plan and used the short ball well. He had both Dian Forrester and Gerald Coetzee caught on the pull to leave South Africa 91 for 7 after 13 overs and the game all but over. South Africa were bowled out in the 16th over.

Brief scores:
New Zealand 175 for 6 in 20 overs  (Devon Conway 60, Tom Latham 11, Nick Kelly 21,  Mitchell Santner 20, Cole McConchie 18*, Josh Clarkson 26*; Gerald Coetzee 1-28, Otnell Baartman 1-31, Keshav Maharaj 1-45, George Linde 1-33, Wiaan Mulder 2-14) beat South Africa 107 in 15.3 overs  (Wiaan Mulder 16, Rubin Hermann 19,  Jason Smith 12, Dian Forester   10, George Linde 33;  Ben Sears 3-14, Lockie Ferguson 3-16, Mitchell Santner 2-19, Cole McConchie 1-24, James Neesham 1-10) by 68 runs

[Cricinfo]

Pakistan have complained to match referee Neeyarmur Rashid over the on-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s decision to allow Bangladesh to take an lbw review off the penultimate ball of the third ODI in Mirpur.  ESPNcricinfo has learnt the Pakistan management registered their complaint on the grounds that they believe Bangladesh took the review after a replay of the delivery flashed up on the big screen.

The decision to take the review, and its ultimate consequences helped Bangladesh assume an unassailable position in the game. Before that delivery, Pakistan needed 12 to win off two balls. Rishad Hossain flighted one up onto leg stump that spun down the leg side, away from Shaheen Afridi. The umpire called it a wide as it went down leg. After brief discussions, Bangladesh decided to take a review for lbw, even though, to the naked eye, the ball was nowhere near Afridi’s legs or any part of his body.

*As per the playing conditions, the fielding team can seek a review for a dismissal only once they have appealed. Also, the appeal can be made any time before the next delivery is bowled. It could not be ascertained whether the on-field umpire, after signalling the wide, informed Bangladesh that in case they want to review, they would need to appeal for lbw or whether Bangladesh asked for the review themselves. Only once the review is signalled by the on-field umpire does the 15-second timer start.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s unforgettable World Cup triumph. Ask any Sri Lankan where they were on the 17th March 1996 and chances are they will recall it in vivid detail. It was a red-letter day for a small island nation that punched above its weight, became world champions and changed the course of its cricket forever.

‎‎It had been a crazy, turbulent month. The Central Bank bombing had shaken the country to its core, crippling the economy and casting a shadow over the tournament. Australia and the West Indies refused to travel to Colombo, forfeiting their games amid security fears. Yet capable hands steadied the ship. Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar and cricket board president Ana Punchihewa ensured the show went on, steering the nation through stormy waters.

‎‎Adversity, as it often does, forged resolve. The troubled times brought the country together and the team responded by playing the brand of cricket that would become their trademark; fearless, inventive and unapologetically bold. Sri Lanka went through the tournament unbeaten, finding a man for every crisis and a solution for every problem.

‎‎The signs had been there from 1994 onwards. Sri Lanka were knocking on the door, threatening to do something special, and when the big stage arrived, they did not merely walk through it, they kicked the door down.

‎‎Three years earlier, Sir Garry Sobers had been asked who might break his world record of 365 in a Test innings. The great West Indian reckoned the race was between Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Aravinda de Silva. Aravinda never quite threatened that particular milestone, but what he did in Lahore remains etched in cricketing folklore. His majestic century in the final, steering a tense run chase with the composure of a grandmaster, remains one of the finest innings played under pressure. Kumar Sangakkara may have better numbers, but for many Sri Lankans Aravinda remains the darling of their cricketing hearts. Travel anywhere in the cricketing world, India, Pakistan, New Zealand or the West Indies and once people learn you are from Sri Lanka, the inevitable question follows: “What is Aravinda doing these days?”

‎‎Then there was Sanath Jayasuriya, the man who turned the Powerplay into a demolition derby. Bowlers barely had time to loosen their shoulders before the ball was disappearing over midwicket. His whirlwind starts tore attacks to shreds and rewrote the playbook of one-day cricket. Such was his impact that England captain Michael Atherton famously suggested the ICC should intervene and rethink the playing conditions. Jayasuriya had simply taken the first 15 overs away from them, lock, stock and barrel. Limited-overs cricket has never quite been the same since.

‎‎At the helm was Arjuna Ranatunga, a captain cut from rare cloth. Leadership, after all, is not just about calling the shots on the field but about standing by your men when the chips are down. Ranatunga literally opened the doors of his house to more than half a dozen members of that World Cup squad, treating them like family and backing them through thick and thin. Like Allan Border, Clive Lloyd and Imran Khan before him, Arjuna was a leader of men whose tactical acumen and fighting spirit sometimes overshadowed his considerable contributions with the bat.

‎‎Every great side also has its unsung heroes. Asanka Gurusinha was one of them. Naturally an aggressive striker of the ball, he curbed his instincts and played the anchor role, allowing the stroke-makers around him to cut loose. That willingness to put the team before personal glory summed up the camaraderie and collective spirit that defined the side.

‎‎The World Cup win did more than fill trophy cabinets , it changed the game at home. Cricket in Sri Lanka turned professional almost overnight. Players who once juggled day jobs with the demands of international sport found themselves with central contracts and proper match fees. Schools across the island embraced the game and its popularity soared, inspiring a new generation to pick up bat and ball.

‎‎Some argue that Sri Lanka later rested on their laurels. While other nations took a leaf out of our book and modernised their cricket structures, we were slow to move with the times. There may be some truth in that argument.

‎‎But what is also true is that players of the calibre of Arjuna, Sanath and Muttiah Muralitharan come along perhaps once in half a century. And as for Aravinda, well, there won’t be another like him, not in our lifetimes.

by Rex Clementine