A captain’s knock by Charith Asalanka steered Sri Lanka to a hard-fought four-wicket victory over New Zealand with six balls to spare in Saturday’s T20I opener in Dambulla. Chasing a modest 136 to win, Sri Lanka’s batsman struggled to capitalise against the second-string visiting team. But a crucial 38-run stand for the sixth wicket between Asalanka and Wanindu Hasaranga steadied the ship and inched the team to victory. “Overall it is a good win,” Asalanka said. “We should have restricted them to 110 or 120 but they did well with the lower order.”

The stand was broken when Hasaranga went for a big shot off Zakary Foulkes but fell short, caught at mid-on by Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner and departing for 22.

Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage, who took three of New Zealand’s wickets after the tourists opted to bat, sealed Sri Lanka’s win in style when he pulled Jacob Duffy for a six over mid-wicket.

Asalanka finished unbeaten on a well-judged 35 off 28 balls.

New Zealand’s below-par total had given Sri Lanka some breathing room.

Top-order batsman Kusal Perera etched his name in the record books, surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan to become Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer in T20s with his quickfire 23 off 17 balls.

New Zealand’s 135 all out was the third-lowest total in T20Is in Dambulla.

“It is a challenge to adjust to conditions,” Santner said.

“At halfway we felt that we can defend it but a couple of partnerships took it away from us.”

“We were expecting 160 after winning the toss but the dew settled in and it was hard to hold the ball and that’s probably food for thought tomorrow.”

Fresh from a commanding red-ball series win in India, the tourists arrived in the island nation missing Tom Blundell, Rachin Ravindra and other stalwarts who are resting for an upcoming Test battle against England.

All-rounder Michael Bracewell showed some fight with 27 off 24, including two fours and a six.

New Zealand managed to go past 100 after a gutsy 39-run stand for the ninth wicket between Ish Sodhi and Foulkes.

Foulkes, joint top-scorer with 27 off 16, hit a four and a six to help the Kiwis salvage some pride before Sodhi’s departure on 10 in the final over.

New Zealand handed a debut to wicketkeeper-batsman Mitchell Hay, who was caught off a Matheesha Pathirana delivery on his second ball for nought.

The second and final match of the series is at the same venue on Sunday.

Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka is happy to have a ‘good headache’ with the resurgence of their batters in the limited-overs format. They registered their third consecutive white-ball series with the 2-1 victory over West Indies in the ODI series on Saturday. Previously, they won the T20I series against the Windies before defeating India in the ODI series. For Sri Lanka, opener Nishan Madushka’s form came as a surprise as the batter scored 38 and 69 in the two ODIs that the team won after coming in place of injured Pathum Nissanka, who struck a half-century upon his return to the side in the final ODI against West Indies.

With Madushka, Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (who smashed a 19-ball fifty in the rain-shortened third ODI), Avishka Fernando, and even Kusal Perera, there is now intense competition for spots in the top three, all among batters in solid form.

Asalanka feels the recent performances of the top-order batters will give the team management a tough time in selecting the squad ahead.

“I’m very happy about Nishan Madushka’s form. If we have a player in that kind of form on the bench, that’s a big win for us. Now when we go into a selection meeting, we’ve got good headaches. The selectors, coach, and I have a tough time choosing a team,” Asalanka said after the series win.

“At the moment we’re in the process of devising a system where we give players a good enough run in the team, and then also give others a turn. That’s why today Nishan Madushka was dropped and we brought Pathum Nissanka back – there’s no point talking much about Nissanka, we know he’s been a special player for two or three years. Avishka played really well in the last series, so we needed to give him his place as well. But we now have a lot more hope about Nishan as well.”

“If we have a player in that kind of form on the bench, that’s a big win for us. Now when we go into a selection meeting, we’ve got good headaches,” added Asalanka on Madushka’s form.

Asalanka, who was named Player of the ODI Series against the West Indies for his scores of 77 and an unbeaten 62 in the first two matches, credited the NSL for his revival during the recent tour.

“In the last series, against India, I wasn’t in form. He’d made 49 across three ODI innings. But I played the NSL tournament and got an excellent result out of that. We’ve got to thank the board for holding the NSL. It’s a tournament that has a competitive level of cricket. And that’s for any player, whether you’re in the national team or not. It’s a place where you can gain form, build up your game, and come up,” he said.

Sri Lanka will now face New Zealand in two T20Is and three ODIs, starting on November 9 in Dambulla. After that, the team will fly to South Africa to play two Tests from November 27.

Sri Lanka beat West Indies by five wickets in the second ODI.© AFP