Auckland, September 03: Daniel Vettori was pleased with New Zealand’s fightback which helped them secure a narrow victory over Sri Lanka in the first T201, praising the effort of his bowlers in particular.
“I think we were about 15 runs short, but the history of this track suggests that it gets harder to bat on as the game progresses,” Vettori said.
“We knew we were in with a chance and the fightback after we got Dilshan was impressive.
“The ball stopped a little and we managed to just strangle them and pile on the pressure.
“The bowling at the death is the best it has been for a long time and to put them under pressure after the start Dilshan gave them is really satisfying.”
Although the pitch at the Premadasa Stadium had aided spin, Vettori believed his side’s fielding had contributed immensely to the victory.
“I think the fielding really stands out in Twenty20 and you just have to take the chances that come your way,” he said.
“I think Ryder’s run out of Jayawardene at the start of innings was an amazing piece of work and all the guys did a fair bit of work in the field.”
Vettori praised Dilshan’s batting, but said his team was trying to find ways to stop the batsman.
“He has been the real difference between the two sides in the Test series and in this game today,” he said.
“He’s playing at the top of his game and he’s playing some good cricket. It’s difficult to know where to bowl to him because he has such a wide range of shots. We just need to keep looking at the footage and find a way to stop him.”
For New Zealand, the only batsman to make any contribution was Ross Taylor with a 45 ball 60. Taylor, though called for a greater contribution from his team’s top order batsmen.
“The top four or five have got to do the bulk of the batting and score the majority of the runs.
“If we can do that then the likes of (Kyle) Mills and Dan (Vettori) hopefully won’t even have to have a bat and it puts us in a good position,” Taylor told Radio Sport.
—–Agencies