Watch: Kusal Perera launched a counterattack against New Zealand after Sri Lanka lost early wickets in the World Cup 2023 match in Bengaluru on November 9.
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Sri Lanka were sent in to bat first. Tim Southee dismissed opener Pathum Nissanka in the second over, while Trent Boult struck twice in the fifth over, dismissing skipper Kusal Mendis (6) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (1) to reduce Sri Lanka to 34-3. As wickets kept tumbling at one end, Kusal Perera fought fire with fire in reply to the aggressive bowling.
Facing Southee in the sixth over, Perera lofted the second ball for a six-over long-on. On the third delivery, he drove on the up off a back-of-a-length ball, chipping it over the ring fielders for a boundary. He defended the fourth ball, somewhat anticlimactically, before punching the fifth ball through the point for four, and whipped the last ball through mid-wicket for similar result.
Southee conceded 18 in that over. Sri Lanka were reeling at 70-5 when Perera departed for 51 (28) after scoring the fastest World Cup 2023 fifty, off just 22 balls. At the time of writing, they were 112-7 in 21 overs.
Watch Kusal Perera go berserk against Tim Southee
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