New Zealand sealed the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with a game to go, but allrounder Thisara Perera played a lifetime innings to remind his batting prowess. With the perfect mixture of brutal power hitting and placement, Thisara went on to smash an incredible 140 off just 74 balls, with his knock consisting of 8 fours and 13 sixes to take his side incredibly close to the target.
Unfortunately the visitors fell short by 21 runs in the end, with Perera mistiming a lofted shot over long-off to hole out to Trent Boult, who took a sharp catch running in from the deep.
Perera’s century is also the highest ODI score by a Sri Lankan batsman in New Zealand and the fifth best in an away bilateral series.
The all-rounder now sits on top of the most number of sixes hit by a Sri Lankan batsman in an ODI innings and the sixth highest overall, behind Corey Anderson’s record-breaking century five years ago.
Perera, who came into bat at No. 7, went on to score 140 which is now the third highest score by a batsman coming in at that position in ODIs.
