New Zealand umpire Kim Cotton etched her name in the record books as she became the first female umpire to officiate a men’s T20 match between two Test-playing nations.
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Cotton walked out to the field alongside compatriot Wayne Knights to officiate the T20 match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the University Oval in Dunedin.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to field first as they wrapped up the Sri Lankan Lions for a paltry total of 141 runs in 19 overs.
Dhananjaya de Silva scored 37 off 26 balls, while Kusal Perera contributed 35 runs off his willow. Charith Asalanka chipped in with 24 runs as the other wickets kept tumbling.
Kiwi bowler Adam Milne was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up a five-wicket haul conceding 26 runs in four overs. Benjamin Lister scalped two wickets, while Henry Sipley, Rachin Ravindra and James Neesham picked up a wicket each.
New Zealand managed to achieve the target successfully before the end of the 15th over to level the three-match T20I series between the sides at 1-1.
The Kiwis claimed a resounding 9-wicket win with 32 deliveries to spare as opener Tim Siefert’s unbeaten 79 off 43 deliveries lead the home side to victory.
Chad Bowser supported Siefert at the beginning of the innings well as he made a sizeable contribution of 31 runs off just 15 balls to get his team off to a good start in the chase.
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Bowser fell to Kasun Ranjita before Tom Lathan walked out to bat and saw the game out with a calculated 30 ball 20 run innings.
Sri Lanka had won the first encounter between the teams in dramatic fashion as a super-over was required to decide the winner of the match after both teams managed to score 196 runs at the end of the 20-over limit.
The three-match T20 series will be decided in the final T20 match slated to take place on the 8th of April at the Queenstown Stadium.
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