Pallekele (Sri Lanka),  Despite his team’s defeat in the second T20 international

against New Zealand, Sri Lanka captain Lasith Malinga took heart from the fact that the

youngsters in his team are fighting hard and giving their best.

Chasing 162 in the second game, New Zealand held their nerve to secure a four-wicket win

in the final over. It was their second such win, after they chased down a competitive target,

with five wickets in hand, in the first game as well. So far, New Zealand have managed to

thwart any attempts by Sri Lanka to assert their dominance.

“We tried our best. All the youngsters gave it their all and we had a decent score,” Malinga

said after the defeat on Tuesday. “We still fought hard but didn’t have the luck in those crucial

moments. Glad with the brand of cricket we’ve played and this is how I want the team to play

going forward.

“We want to give freedom to youngsters to play their natural game, they’re learning how

to play T20s, and I want young players to show they’re made for international cricket.

Losing doesn’t matter as long as the team shows character. Of course, we want to win the

final game but also want to test our bench strength,” he said.

With seven to win in the last over, Sri Lanka picked up wickets off the first two balls. New

arrival Mitchell Santner then carted his first ball for six, although that result hadn’t seemed

likely initially. Having miscued his shot, Santner sent the ball travelling at a catchable height

towards the cow corner boundary. But Shehan Jayasuriya and Kusal Mendis, fielding at

long-on and deep midwicket, both ran towards it, and ended up suffering a nasty collision,

an ICC report said.

Jayasuriya still snared the catch, but tripped and made contact with the boundary, leading

to New Zealand being awarded six runs. Jayasuriya, who looked in bad shape, was

immediately escorted off the field, but after subsequent assessments, both players appear

to be fine and should be able to play in the final game. “They are alright and will play the

next game, hopefully,” said Malinga.

As for New Zealand, the manner in which they responded to the challenge in this game,

as well as the series at large, pleased their captain Tim Southee. He especially praised

Colin de Grandhomme and Tom Bruce, who hit fifties and shared a century stand for the

fourth wicket. “It pleasing for us to see different people step up. Colin de Grandhomme

was excellent and did well with Tom Bruce to set things up after those early wickets,” he

said. “We’ll enjoy the series win tonight and then shift our focus to the last game.”

The third and final T20I will take place at the same venue on September 6.

Brief score:

Sri Lanka – 161/9

New Zealand – 164/6