PALLEKELE  -  Kusal Perera and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit aggressive half-centuries as hosts Sri Lanka romped to an emphatic eight-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international in Pallekele on Thursday. Perera smashed 57 off 37 balls and Dilshan remained unbeaten on 59 off 49 balls as Sri Lanka, the top-ranked Twenty20 side in the world, surpassed New Zealand's 142-7 with 13 balls to spare. The pair put on 96 for the second wicket after veteran Mahela Jayawardene fell LBW to Mitchell McClenaghan for three in the second over. Perera hit six fours and two sixes, while Dilshan struck eight boundaries. The defeat ended New Zealand's short limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which was marred by bad weather.
The first Twenty20 match at the same venue on Tuesday was washed out. The preceding one-day series was drawn 1-1 with one game rained off. New Zealand's innings, after they were sent in to bat by Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal, revolved around a fighting 34 off 25 balls by Luke Ronchi. Despite New Zealand’s batsmen getting starts, they could manage only a score of 142 for 7. New Zealand didn’t begin on a confident note by losing their left-handed opening batsman Hamish Rutherford very early in the innings for just 6 runs. Neil Broom too struggled to make a mark and got out for a mere 6 runs. Rutherford's opening partner, Anton Devcich provided some impetus to New Zealand’s sluggish innings with a quickfire knock of 30. He was eventually caught by Nuwan Kulasekara off Ajantha Mendis’s bowling. Tom Latham too touched double figures, but could never get going.
The Black Caps were reduced to 62-4 by the 11th over after being sent in to bat by Sri Lankan captain Dinesh Chandimal before Ronchi led a rescue act. He put on 31 for the fifth wicket with Colin Munro (17) and 45 for the sixth with Nathan McCullum, who smashed 26 off 16 balls with three boundaries. Ronchi hit three fours and a six to give Black Caps a fair chance of winning their last match on the short limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka that has been marred by bad weather.
The first Twenty20 match at the same venue on Tuesday was washed out. The preceding one-day series was drawn 1-1 with one game rained off.
If not for Ronchi’s innings of 34 and Nathan McCullum’s timely knock of 26, New Zealand could have been in a far worse position. For Sri Lanka, both Ajantha Mendis and newcomer Ramith Rambukwalla bowled economical spells to keep New Zealand on a tight leash. In the end, it turned out to be a good team effort by Sri Lankan bowlers.
Offspinning allrounder Rambukwella was given a T20I debut for Sri Lanka, after several good List A and Twenty20 performances in recent months, particularly with the ball. His inclusion meant there was no place for offspinner Sachithra Senanayake. Batsman Kusal Perera was also named in the team as a likely opener, in place of Lahiru Thirimanne.
Neil Broom and Hamish Rutherford were given their first match of the tour, replacing Grant Elliott and the injured James Neesham. Rob Nicol kept his spot in the side, as did Anton Devcich, but there was no place for Adam Milne.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND:
H Rutherford c Sangakkara b Kulasekara    3
A Devcich c Kulasekara b Mendis    30
N Broom c Mendis b Mathews    6
T Latham c Dilshan b Rambukwella    20
C Munro c Kulasekara b Perera    17
L Ronchi not out    34
N McCullum run out    26
R Nicol lbw b Malinga    2
A Ellis not out    2
EXTRAS: (lb2)    2
TOTAL: (7 wkts, 20 overs)    142
FOW: 1-3, 2-14, 3-49, 4-62, 5-93, 6-138, 7-140
BOWLING: Malinga 4-0-33-1, Kulasekara 4-0-31-1, Mathews 2-0-17-1, Rambukwella 4-0-19-1, Mendis 3-0-20-1, Dilshan 1-0-7-0, Perera 2-0-13-1
SRI LANKA:
M Jayawardene lbw b McClenaghan    3
T Dilshan not out    59
K Perera c and b Nicol    57
K Sangakkara not out    20
EXTRAS: (lb3, w1)    4
TOTAL: (2 wkts, 17.5 overs)    143
FOW: 1-8, 2-104
BOWLING: Mills 3-0-26-0, McClenaghan 4-0-34-1, N. McCullum 3.5-0-34-0, Ellis 2-0-15-0, Devcich 3-0-13-0, Nicol 2-0-18-1