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Tillikaratane Dilshan eased to his 19th one-day international century to anchor his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand in the second game of their seven-match series at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Thursday.
Dilshan scored 116 from 127 balls in Sri Lanka's 252-4 as the visitors levelled the series at 1-1 after New Zealand won the first game at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was 39 not out with Lahiru Thirimanne on two as the visitors chased down New Zealand's 248 all out in 47.4 overs.
"Pretty pleased with that performance," Mathews said. "They got off a brilliant start with Brendon McCullum's batting but our spinners really pulled them back by taking wickets.
"(Dilshan) got off to a start and once he got set he batted through, which is what we want from our first four batters.
"On the field we were brilliant, taking four runs outs, so it was a clinical performance by the whole team."
Dilshan was the key for the visitors, combining with fellow opener Dimuth Karunaratne (21) in a 64-run opening stand before enjoying solid partnerships with Kumar Sangakkara (38), Mahela Jayawardene (27) and Mathews that kept the scoreboard ticking over at almost a run a ball.
"It was a really good surface to bat on, with the ball coming on to the bat," said Dilshan, who also provided seven tidy overs with his offspin.
"I've really been enjoying bowling in the last six months. It was not easy to bowl on this wicket, it's really flat and not much turn, but if you put it in the right areas batsmen will take chances."
New Zealand captain McCullum had earlier blasted 12 boundaries and five sixes to score 117, his fifth one-day international century for his side, the only other bright spot in a otherwise poor performance from the hosts.
McCullum took the hosts to 158-2 in the 31st over, then New Zealand lost five wickets, four of them to run outs, for 49 runs and the captain said that had been crucial.
"Four runs outs is not good enough," McCullum said.
"We probably let a little bit of panic set in... and we have to learn the lesson from it because we were in a pretty good position and threatening a 300-plus score.
"Credit to Sri Lanka, they deserved to win."
Scoreboard
Sri Lanka
D. Karunaratne lbw N.McCullum 21
T. Dilshan c Ronchi b Henry 116
K. Sangakkara c Latham b Milne 38
M. Jayawardene c Taylor b Henry 27
A. Mathews not out 39
L. Thirimanne not out 2
Extras (w4 lb5) 9
Total (4 wickets, 47.4 overs) 252
Fall of wickets: 1-64 (Karunaratne), 2-116 (Sangakkara), 3-163 (Jayawardene), 4-237 (Dilshan)
Bowling: Boult 10-1-52-0, Henry 9.4-0-34-2, Milne 8-0-61-1, N.McCullum 6-0-40-1, Vettori 10-1-40-1, Anderson 4-0-20-0
Toss: New Zealand, who chose to bat
Series: 1-1
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
New Zealand innings
A magnificent Brendon McCullum century gave New Zealand a flying start in the second one-day international against Sri Lanka before the vistors capitalised on a string of reckless errors to fight back into the match.
The Blacks Caps, who lead the seven-match series 1-0, appeared set for a mammoth total when McCullum smashed 117 after winning the toss but Sri Lanka piled on the pressure to have them all out for 248 at the end of 50 overs.
Sharp fielding and consistent bowling from Angelo Mathews' men on a tame Seddon Park wicket forced four run-outs and a stumping as New Zealand lost their composure without skipper McCullum at the crease.
They threw away wickets chasing suicidal singles, squandering the opportunity to put the match beyond Sri Lanka's reach.
The visitors struck early when opener Martin Guptill departed for 10 trying to loft Nuwan Kulasekara over mid-off, sending the ball straight to Mathews to continue an indifferent run of form at international level.
McCullum responded to the setback with typical aggression, bringing up his second consecutive 50 in 39 balls, including eight boundaries.
He continued to play his shots even when Sri Lanka's decision to play a second spinner paid dividends as Rangan Herath coaxed an outside edge to dismiss Tom Latham for five.
With fellow veteran Ross Taylor grafting away at the other end, McCullum completed his century with a boundary after 88 balls.
It was only the fifth time in 203 one-day innings that McCullum has managed to convert his 28 half centuries into a ton, sending an ominous message to World Cup rivals that he is finally reproducing his Test form in the limited overs arena.
The 33-year-old then survived a mix-up between the wickets that left him stranded but fell a few balls later when a diving Jeevan Mendis had him caught and bowled for 117.
McCullum's departure sparked a flurry of dismissals, with New Zealand losing four wickets for 14 runs.
Dan Vettori lasted only eight balls before he was run-out for seven and Taylor was sent packing on 34 when he skied a Herath delivery trying to push the pace.
Luke Ronchi did not face a ball before he was run-out and Corey Anderson (5) was caught short of his crease chasing a quick single in the next over.
Nathan McCullum looked to be steadying the innings before a rush of blood to the head saw him become New Zealand's fourth run-out.
Adam Milne (17) added some variety when he took a wild swing at Sachinthra Senanyake's delivery, stumbled out of his crease and was stumped by wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara on 17.
Trent Boult (13) added two valuable sixes before he was caught trying for a third off the last ball of the innings.
Scoreboard:
New Zealand
M. Guptill c Mathews b Kulasekara 10
B. McCullum c and b Mendis 117
T. Latham c Sangakkara b Herath 5
R. Taylor c Perera b Herath 34
D. Vettori run out (Mendis) 7
C. Anderson run out (Mathews) 5
L. Ronchi run out (Dilshan) 0
N. McCullum run out (Jayawardene) 13
A. Milne st Sangakkara b Senanyake 19
M. Henry not out 20
T. Boult c Thirimanne b Senanyake 13
Extras (w5) 5
Total (all out, 50 overs) 248
Fall of wickets: 1-35 (Guptill), 2-73 (Latham), 3-158 (B. McCullum), 4-171 (Vettori), 5-183 (Taylor), 6-183 (Ronchi), 7-185 (Anderson), 8-207 (N.McCullum), 9-222 (Milne), 10-248 (Boult)
Bowling: Kulasekara 8-0-40-1, Perera 4-0-41-0, Senanayake 10-0-55-2, Herath 10-0-36-2 , Mendis 10-0-47-1, Dilshan 7-0-27-0, Mathews 1-0-2-0
Toss: New Zealand
Series: New Zealand 1-0
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL), Ian Gould (ENG)
TV umpire: Nigel Llong (ENG)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
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