Sangakkara leads Sri Lanka to 287/6

 Another tremendous ton from Kumar Sangakkara has led Sri Lanka to a commanding 287 for six. This is Sangakkara’s 21st ODI century. Though New Zealand managed to pick up a lot of wickets at the end, they were unable to get past Sangakkara, who hit 14 boundaries en route to his unbeaten 105-ball 113.

Mahela Jayawardene is out it for 14 as he was trying to run the ball to third man. He was looking extremely aggressive and was looking to take on the bowling. Unfortunately, he has to walk back to the pavilion after a brisk innings. New Zealand are now right back in this game and another wicket here, Sri Lanka will be in a spot of bother.

Tillakaratne Dilshan misses out on a century after he is dismissed for 81. Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara put on 81 runs in quick succession after Sri Lanka lost the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne for 30. Mahela Jayawardene has joined Sangakkara and the duo will look to put on yet another good partnership in pursuit of getting a huge score.

Kumar Sangakkara has reaches his 94th half-century and his partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan is also past 100. This partnership comes after Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne put on 70 runs for the first wicket. Sri Lanka have gone past 150 in the 28th over with Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan looking extremely good with every ball they face. If they continue like this, they will set a huge target for New Zealand to chase down.

At the half-way stage, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakarayne Dilshan are playing at a good pace as they look to set New Zealand a target of over 300. They’ve exceeded their 50-run stand and are well on course to a good total. Kumar Sangakkara bring up their 50-run stand off just 52 balls as they look to consolidate after a good start given by Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne. Thirimanne was dismissed for 30. Sangakkara and Dilshan have since then done extremely well to carry the momentum on.

New Zealand have taken their form from the Tests into the One-Day Internationals (ODI) and have sealed the series 4-1 against Sri Lanka. While the match appears to be a dead-rubber from the series perspective there is still a lot to play for. Sri Lanka will be keen to salvage pride by winning the final ODI. New Zealand on the other hand will want to continue in their dominant fashion before they head into the two-match ODI series against Pakistan. (cricketcountry)