Sri Lanka Beaten 290 for 8 (Nissanka 66, Kusal 54, Liyanage 53, Henry 4-55, Santner 2-55). New Zealand 150 (Chapman 81, Asitha 3-26, Malinga 3-35, Theekshana 3-35) for 140 runs

New Zealand soon slipped to 48 for 6, then 77 for 7, and although the last rites took some time, Sri Lanka dismissed their opponents for 150 within 30 overs. This was the third one-sided game of the series. New Zealand won the other two.

Asitha’s 3 for 26 was not a real swing bowling masterclass as he occasionally struggled with his lines. But there were some spectacular shots as he achieved far more swing than any other bowler in the game. The ball that cleared Rachin Ravindra’s leg stump was magnificent; Asitha steered the ball over the left curve and managed to slip the ball between the bat and the pad very late. The whole time with the new ball he had this shape with his balls. He struck twice in the seventh, dismissing Tom Latham and Glenn Phillips, both for Ducks.

However, the first ingredients of Sri Lanka’s 140-run win were fifties from Nissanka and Kusal. Nissanka’s 66 from 42 was unusual. He reached 50 on the 31st pitch he played, but as he was finishing that run he appeared to sustain a hamstring injury and left the field at the end of the tenth over. Kusal then replaced him at the goal line and managed 54 out of 48 points to salvage the otherwise modest tour for him.

Nissanka in particular enjoyed taking on the short ball. He smashed five sixes and six fours in his innings and came back to mid-on in the 34th over to hit a couple, despite being unable to run or reach particularly far outside off. Kusal hit two sixes and five fours, having completed all his runs after the initial fielding restrictions ended.

Santner was one of the main people responsible for the slowdown of Sri Lanka’s mediocre economy. They were 155 for 1 after 27 overs (Nissanka was also retired injured), but in the following seven overs they lost three wickets and made just 28. They recovered via a half-century from Liyanage, who built a clever innings that won the Outnumbered protected middle order and the tail. Liyanage made 53 off 52 balls before falling in the last over. He had hit five boundaries – two of which were sixes – but above all he was trying to drive the game deeper and ensure Sri Lanka got through their 50 overs.

But New Zealand had no answer for Asitha playing one of the white-ball spells of his career. Recognizing there was a new ball, Chapman then gained confidence once the powerplay was over, finding the boundary with the same ease that Nissanka and Kusal had earlier. He was particularly strong offside, hitting all but two of his ten fours on that side of the floor.

But thanks to that early collapse, they never looked like they would threaten the target.