On the third over, New Zealand has scored 16 runs with Conway and Ravindra both at 8 points. The target is 172. After the failed review, Conway impressively drives the ball for four points. He has a superb straight drive.

The play was ruled as not out. The gestures of everyone involved gave off a sense of desperation, and it turned out to be true: there was a noticeable gap. The bowler has let down their captain by convincing them to make this decision.

Did Conway outperform Madushanka? The captain and wicketkeeper Mendis used all of his allotted 15 seconds to request a DRS review.

The second over begins with New Zealand at 12-0, with Conway and Ravindra on the crease. The target is 172 runs. Will spin be the key to victory? Sri Lanka will need their spinners to start taking wickets immediately if they want to defend their low total. Theekshana, known for his mystery spin, starts the attack. He has had some success in the past six weeks, but has never truly dominated. In contrast, Madushanka and Ravindra have been standout players for New Zealand in the recent World Cup. Despite being lower in the batting order, Ravindra has scored three centuries in England before the team’s trip to India. While he may not be as threatening with the ball, his batting skills are exceptional. In this over, he effortlessly flicks and cuts the ball, ending with a beautiful drive through the off-side field for a boundary.

The first over of the match begins with New Zealand at 4-0, with Conway scoring 4 runs and Ravindra at 0. The target for this match is 172. The bowler, Madushanka, has been a standout player in the tournament with his impressive left-arm over. He has started off strong in previous matches, so there is anticipation for him to do the same here. However, he faces off against Conway, who seems to be more like a machine than a human player. Conway effortlessly hits a boundary to midwicket, getting the Black Caps on the scoreboard.

Thank you, Tim! Hi everyone. I’m just taking a quick break – more detailed updates will be coming soon as the teams return to the field. If I tell you I’m running behind schedule because I was at David Gower’s house, will you forgive me? I hope so. Feel free to reach out to me, send me a tweet. Let’s get going.

It’s time for me to finish for the day. Thank you for joining me, communicating with me, and expressing disbelief at Sri Lanka’s slow pace. Adam Collins will join you soon to see if New Zealand can score these runs before it starts raining.

That was quite a puzzling performance by Sri Lanka. Kusal Perera started off strong, but the rest of his team members fell short. They reached a score of 100 in the 16th over, but then seemed to imitate Sunil Gavaskar’s performance in the first men’s World Cup in 1975.

In the span of 30 overs, they managed to score an additional 69 runs in a painstakingly slow manner. The last-wicket duo contributed 43 of those runs. It is possible that their strategy was to prolong the game and hope for a draw. However, this would be unfair to the outstanding bowling performances of Boult, Santner, and Ravindra.

Thank goodness for that!

In the 46th over, Sri Lanka’s score is 170-9 with Theekshana scoring 38 and Madushanka scoring 19. Southee stays on as the bowler and Sri Lanka starts to increase their scoring rate with three singles. The last time they scored more than that was 34 balls ago. A camera operator (apologies for my previous assumption of their gender) captures a kite stuck in a tree, not the toy kind but an actual bird.

In the 45th over, Sri Lanka’s score is 167-9 with Theekshana scoring 36 runs and Madushanka scoring 18 runs. Ravindra, who was not performing well initially, now has figures of 1 for 21 off seven overs. A cameraman, possibly uninterested in the match, captures a beautiful shot of a sunset reflecting on the water behind the floodlights.

In the 44th over, Sri Lanka’s score is 165-9 with Theekshana scoring 35 and Madushanka scoring 17. Williamson switches back to Southee instead of using twin spin. The over only yields two singles. Theekshana lacks urgency in his play.

In the 43rd over, Sri Lanka’s score is 163-9 with Theekshana at 34 runs and Madushanka at 16 runs. Williamson’s decision to not bring in Ravindra was not because he didn’t believe in him, but because he wanted to shake things up by having spin from both ends. Ravindra only allows a single run, but it makes one question when New Zealand will start playing with more urgency.

Krish exclaims, “I am astonished that this atrocious game has gone on for 40 overs already. It’s a great opportunity for New Zealand to secure their NRR and begin strategizing to defeat India. However, they must take into account the seven batsmen and seven bowlers they will be facing.” It is undeniable that India is a dominant team, but I have a feeling they would prefer not to go up against NZ.

In the 42nd over, Sri Lanka’s score is 162-9 with Theekshana scoring 33 and Madushanka scoring 16. Williamson makes the decision to bring back spin, opting for Glenn Phillips’ off-breaks instead of Ravindra, who still has five overs left. The batters manage to score three singles and the partnership slowly reaches 34 runs off 59 balls. While it has been a tense game, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the outcome.

Southee returns for the 41st over with Sri Lanka at 159-9. Theekshana is on 31 runs and Madushanka is on 15 runs. Southee is the only bowler today who has given up more than four runs an over. His earlier performance was at eight an over, but this time he only allows four runs – all from a single shot from Madushanka to the leg side.