On Thursday, Sri Lanka adopted a cautious strategy that saw them lose all their openers and middle-order batsmen within the first half of the innings. Dhananjaya de Silva, however, decided to counter-attack after assessing the conditions.
Yet, their momentum was halted when Mitchell Santner dismissed Angelo Mathews at slip, and shortly after, DDS fell victim to the same bowler.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka’s run rate considerably slowed down, leaving them at 113/7 by the end of the 23rd over. Meanwhile, New Zealand was keen to dismiss the tail, hoping to avoid the forecasted rain later in the day. In a desperate move, the Kiwis resorted to an LBW appeal that was initially given as not out.
During the 24th over, bowled by Lockie Ferguson, Chameera seemed to have gotten a thick inside edge onto his pads. Daryl Mitchell at slip attempted to persuade skipper Kane Williamson to go for a review. In a moment of miscalculation, Williamson gave in and agreed to a disastrous LBW review against Chameera.
Replays clearly showed the thick inside edge onto Chameera’s back leg. Seeing this on the big screen, the Kiwis quickly dispersed from the huddle, many with a sheepish grin on their faces, while Kane had to cover his mouth to stifle laughter.
