New Zealand 364/4 (Ross Taylor 133, Henry Nicholls 124*, Kane Williamson 55, Lasith Malinga 3/93)
Sri Lanka 249 (T. Perera 80, K. Perera 43, Lockie Ferguson 4/40, Ish Sodhi, 3/40)
42nd over:
OUT - That will do us! Sodhi flips up another wrong'un to collect Pradeep's off stump and end both the match and the series. Pradeep b Sodhi 0 (3)
OUT - Malinga plays all around a wrong'un from Sodhi and Seifert cleanly whips the bails off for the stumping. Malinga st Seifert b Sodhi (0)1
41st over:
OUT - Superbly set-up by Ferguson, two slower balls followed by the full speed leg cutter and Gunathilaka is far too late to the party with his shot. Fergsuons nabs his fourth scalp. Gunathilaka b Ferguson 31(52)
OUT - Chameera has a heave at one and sends the ball directly skyward, it falls comfortably into the hands of Tim Southee and the end seems to be near for the Sri Lankans. Chameera c Southee b Ferguson 1(8)
40th over:
Henry with a miserly two-run over as the run rate skyrockets to 11.6.
39th over:
OUT - Perera looks to loft one over Guptill at point but the big man is up to the challenge as he leaps and goes full extension to reel in a stunner of a one-handed take. Masive wicket for the Blackcaps, and it's third life unlucky for Perera. Perera c Guptill b Ferguson 80(63)
Slower ball well bowled by Ferguson.
Ferguson returns to the bowling crease.
38th over:
Current run rate for SL is 6.40, required is 10.16.
Taylor does well to save four at extra cover off the final ball of the over.
Perera leans back like Fat Joe and plays one late off Henry through the vacant slips region for four. All wrists there, lovely.
37th over:
Beautifully played check pull shot rounds out a great over for Sri Lanka. Perera is looking ominous yet again.
Dropped again! Straightforward opportunity to Taylor at extra cover who slightly misjudged the pace, didn't get forward fast enough and spills it. The dangerman Perera gets another life.
Perera goes hard with the hook shot to the Southee bouncer and gets a thick edge over the keeper's head for four.
Southee to Perera and he's whipped to the midwicket boundary.
36th over:
Seven off the over as they finish with a single.
Perera takes a massive swing, edges one through to Seifert who bumbles the catch off his helmet and to the deck. Chance gone begging to remove the dangerman.
Sodhi continues, just a couple of runs off the first few balls.
35th over:
Neesham bowling an excellent line and length, restricts Sri Lanka to just five off the over as the run rate continues to climb. It's now over 10.
34th over:
Required run rate now creeping up to 10 for the tourists. Perera seems well aware of that as he produces a carbon copy of his six from earlier in the over.
Perera goes down to one knee and launches Sodhi into the stands to bring up his half-century in style.
33rd over:
Gunathilaka is struck right in fron of middle and Southee roars with the appeal. Umpire not so keen, may just have pitched outside the line.
31st over:
Perera backs that up with a flick of a Henry full toss off the pads for four more.
Perera slams Henry deep with a hook shot, just one bounce and into the fence. Sri Lanka need a few more of those.
29th over:
Henry cramps Perera up off the last ball, a nice response from the quick.
Perera sends another skyward, doesn't have quite enough on it to find the fence.
Perera looks like he's decided to take Henry on, lancing one over midwicket for six.
27th over:
Perera swings one back over Henry's head and to the boundary rope for six off the first ball of the over.
26th over:
Williamson back into the attack - Perera is quick to attack but the skipper limits the damage well.
23rd over:
OUT - K. Perera goes for the big drive and it's straight through to Seifert with an audible noise. The NZ side go up as one and the umpire raises his finger. Sri Lanka opt to review but hot spot confirms the edge and another wicket falls. K. Perera c Seifert b Ferguson 43(49)
K. Perera slogs Ferguson over the deep square-leg fence.
22nd over:
Sodhi goes up on the first ball as he strikes K. Perera flush on the pad. Umpire shakes his head.
21st over:
Guptill with some slick fielding at point to save a boundary.
K. Perera rocks back and pulls one to the mid-wicket fence.
20th over:
K. Perera dances down the wicket and smashes on straight to mid-off who throws down the stumps, they steal a single on the ricochet.
T. Perera goes over the top for two off Sodhi.
19th over:
Ferguson becomes Perera's first victim, cut through point for four.
18th over:
Superb over from Sodhi, NZ really starting to take a hold off this contest.
Heres comes Thisara Perera, Sri Lanka's second ODI hero. They'll need something special again from him here.
OUT - Sodhi sends one straight and Shanaka is struck right in front as he attempts to sweep. Umpire didn't have to think long about that one. Shananka LBW b Sodhi 2(7)
17th over:
Perera breaks the shackles with a late cut, rolls the wrists and sends the ball bolting to the third man boundary.
Shanaka off the mark as he flicks behind square off Neesham.
16th over:
Sodhi strikes Shanaka wandering across his sticks, big appeal but no dice from the umpire. Ball tracker suggests NZ may have had another wicket upon appeal.
OUT - Brilliant work from skipper Kane Williamson at cover, Seifert whips the bails off and they're confident as the umpire signals upstairs. Razor close decision but the third umpire belives the bat was on the line and they give the red light. Mendis is off without facing a ball. Mendis run out 0 (0)
15th over:
OUT - Dickwella gets a thick edge as he looks to go over covers, splays one down to third man where Lockie Ferguson takes an excellent low catch. Dickwella c Ferguson b Neesham 46 (37)
Neesham is sent sailing over long-on for six to bring up the 100 for Sri Lanka.
14th over:
Ish Sodhi grabs the ball for the first time. Today first-up effort conceding just five runs.
13th over:
Perera can't get hold of the final ball, eight from the over.
Perera slays a pull shot hard and fast for four off Neesham.
12th over:
Dickwella sweeps well, perfectly into the gap for four to end the over.
Dickwella reverse sweep straight to short fine-leg, they narrowly get through for a single.
Captain Kane into the attack now. Big swing and no ding off ball one.
11th over:
Perera plays straight for a single to close the over, a solid opener for Neesham.
Perera gets a fortuitous break off the thick inside edge, narrowly misses the stumps and races to the fine leg boundary.
Neehsam into the attack, just one from his first three balls.
Sri Lanka operating at precisely the required run-rate of 7.22
10th over:
Perera opens his account with a lovely square drive for four off Southee.
9th over:
OUT - De Silva struck on the back foot and Southee erupts with an appeal, umpire gives it the nod and the index finger. First wicket falls for the tourists. De Silva LBW b Southee 36 (29)
8th over:
De Silva picks up a short one off Ferguson and plays an uncoventional looking hook shot for six over fine leg.
7th over:
Another big over for the tourists, 11 off it.
De Silva goes again, this time slashing through covers to the fence.
Fifty partnership comes up as Sodhi bumbles a stop at mid-on for four.
6th over:
The Sri Lankan openers beginning to lay a solid foundation here, precisely the start they needed chasing such a mammoth total.
Much more emphatic the next ball, Dickwella takes a big stride then slays a missile over long-on for six.
Dickwella looks to hook and gets a chunky edge to it, ball flies over the keeper's head for four.
Two dots to the start Lockie Ferguson's first over, followed by a single.
5th over:
Leg-bye to end a good over from Southee.
Dickwella fires one back at bowler Tim Southee, who does well to get a hand to it and save a certain boundary.
4th over:
De Silva showing no mercy, goes at Henry again. Flicks one over mid-wicket for four to end the over.
No such mistake the following ball, as De Silva plays a cover drive right out of the textbook. No need to run for that one, that's straight to the fence.
De Silva takes a huge heave at Henry's second ball, doesn't quite catch it but they pick up two.
3rd over:
Quick single to Dickwella after a half-hearted shout for LBW.
Dickwella leans back and plays a deft late cut, beats third man to the boundary.
2nd over:
De Silva whips one off his pads for four, Matt Henry getting some tap in his opening over.
Dickwella skies one to deep midwicket, the 'catch it' cries go up but it falls comfortably to safety for two runs.
Nicholls makes a fantastic stop at point to save four. The man can do no wrong today.
1st over:
Tim Southee takes the new ball and kicks us off with three dot balls, before Dickwella gets the tourists off the mark with a quick single to mid-off.
3:12pm - Stephen Foote here to take over the live scoring duties as the Sri Lankan openers prepare to take to the middle at sun-drenched Saxton Oval.
50th over
Four: And...
Four more. Nicholls is getting stuck into Pradeep.
Four: It's a full toss above the waist, Nicholls dispatches it anyway and there will be a free hit...
Six: Nicholls takes full toll on the free hit.
Nicholls hits to long-on and the batsmen go for two. The return throw is misfielded by Pradeep.
Nicholls tries to reverse sweep the finall ball, misses, but runs the bye. That's 24 runs off the final over and a mammoth final total.
49th over
Neesham is dropped on one and takes the single.
Six: Nicholls unleashes on Malinga and brings up his century.
Four: Neesham catches up with a short-pitched ball down legside and it beats the keeper to the fence.
Six: Malinga responds with a terrible wide down legside and a free hit that Neesham takes full count of.
48th over
Pradeeps first ball back to Neesham is wide down leg. Neesham mistimes for single to get off the mark.
Six: Nicholls connects and clears the boundary fieldsman for his highest ODI score.
Four: Nicholls gets an outside edge that runs to the rope.
47th over
OUT: Just when we were calling for a hard-hitting cameo from Jimmy Neesham, Taylor sacrifices his wicket (jokes), swinging to midwicket and failing to clear the fieldsman.
Ross Taylor c de Silva b Malinga 137 (131 balls)
Neesham strolls to the crease - cometh the moment, cometh the man.
Four: Nicholls ends the over by swinging Malinga to the boundary. He's closing in on a century too.
46th over
Taylor smashes Sandakan hard back down the wicket and only the stumps save the umpire from serious injury.
Nicholls and Taylor bring up their 150 partnership.
Dropped: Taylor smashes back down the wicket, but Sandakan can't possibly hold that meteor, although he does save a couple of runs.
45th over
If Nicholls needed to transfer his test form to the limited-overs format, this has been a convincing display. He's scoring a better than a run a ball.
Six: Taylor slogs Malinga over the fence.
Four: Nicholls strokes cleanly and beats the long-off fielder into the rope.
Six: Taylor repeats his previous shot and the slog is officially on. Nineteen runs off the over.
44th over
Sandakan is back to try to stem the flow of runs. He restricts the batsmen to singles off the first four balls and another off the last.
43rd over
Six: Taylor gets under Malinga and sends the ball back over his head, over the rope.
Nicholls returns for a second run on the final ball of the over and Sri Lanka appeal for a run-out, but replays show he's a metre home.
42nd over
Nicholls and Taylor bring up their century partnership, which is a record fourth-wicket stand for New Zealand against Sri Lanka.
Four: Nicholls scorches de Silva through midwicket.
Nine runs off the over.
41st over
Six: Malinga brings himself back for his final five overs, but is immediately dispatched to the fence by Taylor.
Nicholls takes two to bring up his seventh ODI half-century.
40th over
Taylor only needs two runs, but forces the issue with a close-run single.
He brings up his century with a nudge past bowler de Silva, but off the last ball of the over, he survives an lbw appeal and review, with the ball passing leg stump.
39th over
Taylor is closing in on his century. Six runs off the over, all singles or wides.
38th over
Nicholls nudges de Silva and runs, forcing a misfield.
Four: Nicholls reverse sweeps and the outfield is lightning fast.
Nine runs off the over.
37th over
Pradeep is back with the ball. Taylor cuts him for two and then can't catch up with a wide down legside.
Four: Pradeep pitches short and Nicholls pulls it to the square-leg boundary.
Pradeep pitches short again, but Nicholls can't catch up with it and it passes to the keeper.
Ten runs off the over.
36th over
Taylor and Nicholls are treating de Silva with a little more respect, and runs are only coming in singles this over.
Four off it.
35th over
Four: Taylor unleashes over midwicket off the opening ball of Chameera's next over...
Four: And then again to third man with the second. Chameera's becoming a bit expensive now.
34th over
De Silva will employ his spin now.
Taylor executes a reverse paddle for a couple of runs - he must be seeing the ball OK.
Four: Nicholls puts this away through cover to end the over, nine runs from it.
33rd over
We're back from drinks, always a difficult time to begin again for the batsmen.
Nicholls swings Chameera to square leg and the fieldsmen on the boundary restrict him to two runs.
Just four runs off the over.
32nd over
Four: Nicholls shuffles across the crease and laps Shanaka down legside to the boundary.
Eight runs from the over.
31st over
Four: Nicholls dances down the pitch to Chameera and dispatches him over midwicket.
Eight runs off the over, Nicholls has had time to see the ball now.
30th over
Just one single and a two off Shanaka in that over. If the throw had hit from the field, Nicholls would have been out.
After 30, New Zealand have 161 and if you take the old adage of doubling that score, they're headed for about 320.
29th over
Four singles off that Sandakan over.
28th over
We can probably expect a slight drop in the run rate, while Nicholls finds his feet in the middle.
Nicholls mistimes, but finds space for three runs.
27th over
OUT: Williamson swings for the boundary, but can't clear da Silva near the midwicket rope.
Kane Williamson c de Silva b Sandakan 55 (65 balls)
Nicholls arrives at the crease and while he's had great test results, he may need an innings here to consolidate his one-eday credentials. He immediately cuts for a single to get off the mark.
Four runs and a wicket in that over.
26th over
Definite acceleration in the innings now, with Taylor and Williamson both looking to the fence against Shanaka.
Four: Taylor square cuts and beats the boundary rider.
Taylor survives and enthusiastic lbw appeal from the bowler.
25th over
Four: Taylor looks to pick up the pace, sweeping Sandakan away.
Williamson prods forward and is beaten. Dickwella shatters the stumps, but replays show Williamson has his big toe behind the creases.
24th over
Four: Taylor has his 46th half-century, edging past the keeper. That's his sixth straight.
It also brings up the 100 partnership.
Eight runs from the over.
23rd over
Four: After missing out on the previous ball, Taylor sweeps Sandakan to the rope.
22nd over
Shanaka begins a spell of medium pace and Taylor has an immediate single.
Williamson takes one as well to bring up his 35th ODI half-century off 56 balls.
Five singles off the over.
21st over
Four: After a couple of singles, Williamson cuts to the boundary off Sandakan to move to 49.
20th over
This pair continue to accumulate off Chameera - two to Taylor, then a single, Williamson a single. Taylor one, then Williamson.
Six runs off the over.
19th over
Williamson and Taylor seem to be playing well within themselves right now - they take singles and sprint for two on a misfield.
They're effectively playing the menace out of this pitch.
Taylor edges leg side for two.
Six: Williamson lofts over long-on for the first six of the innings.
18th over
Williamson and Taylor continue to noodle singles off Chameera.
17th over
Williamson takes a single off Sandakan and Taylor swats another off the third ball.
Williamson plays through the off-side for another.
16th over
Four: Williamson plays streakily through the off-side off Chameera, barely clearing the inner field. Malinga makes a hash of it on the boundary.
A single to Williamson brings up the 50 partnership with Taylor.... and it's drinks. That's 25 half-century partnerships between these two and they trail only Nathan Astle/Stephen Fleming with 26.
15th over
Sandakan enters the attack with his spin option. Taylors plays his second ball for an easy single.
Williamson replicates that shot for another single. Just two off that over.
14th over
Four: Williamson plays Pradeep square for a couple of runs and then swings through the same area, beating the field to the fence.
13th over
Four: Williamson lofts Perera back over his head for the first boundary in a few overs.
He completes the over with a sharply taken single to retain strike.
12th over
Pradeep strays onto Taylor's legs and he nudges for one. Williamson replicates that shot for a single too.
Taylor picks up another single, Williamson looks like a sprinter left in the blocks, but he finds his ground.
11th over
Williamson breaks the drought with a single off Thisara Perera's first ball.
Taylor takes a single off the fourth ball... and that's it.
10th over
Pradeep's third over begins.
The runs have dried up a little here - since Taylor's consecutive fours, we've had 13 dot balls.
Make that 14... 15.
Back-to-back maidens.
Ninth over
Malinga continues his spell into a fifth over. It's a maiden.
Eighth over
Pradeep opens his next over with a wide.
Four: Taylor plays it square to the boundary.
Four: Taylor plays more forcefully square and it races to the rope.
Seventh over
Williamson plays delightfully through the leg side field, but it's pulled up short of the boundary for three runs.
Taylor gets two leg byes and there's some excitement in the field for an lbw, but it's clearly angling down legside.
Sixth over
A change in the bowling, with Pradeep taking the ball.
Four: Taylor tries to cut viciously, but gets an inside edge that beats the keeper.
Fifth over
Four: Munro plays late, just behind square and the ball races away.
Munro plays square for two off Malinga's first ball.
OUT: Munro tries to slash through the off-side, but takes an inside edge and plays onto the stumps.
Colin Munro b Malinga 21 (14 balls)
Both openers are gone now and New Zealand have their two best batsmen - Williamson and Ross Taylor - at the crease in just the fifth over.
Five: Taylor hits and runs - he's terrible between wickets and has to slide full length to avoid the run-out. No-one's backing up and the ball runs to the boundary.
Wow.
Fourth over
Munro nabs a single off the second ball from Chameera.
Four: Williamson is mixing circumspection with measured belligerence, playing through the leg-side for his second boundary.
Third over
OUT: Guptill catches an outside edge off Malinga's first ball and Mendis takes the gully catch to send the first-match centurion back to the pavillion early.
Martin Guptill c Mendis b Malinga 2
Four: Williamson's first shot is a little streaky, almost identical to Guptill's dismissal, but played into the ground and racing away.
Malinga has found or missed the egde of the ball a few times already, so this pitch looks more threatening than the Mount.
Second over
Four: Munro cleanly connects with Chameera's first ball through the off-side, sending it to the boundary.
Four: He chips the second ball over the field, a little riskily, but it dribbles to the rope.
Four: Munro and Guptill both take singles, then Munro catches a big outside edge past the slips that runs away.
First over
Guptill and Munro stroll to the middle, with Guptill taking guard first. Malinga limbers up for the first ball and beats the edge of the bat.
Guptill is off the mark with the second ball. Munro wafts outside off-stump at the fourth ball and fortunately can't connect.
In fact, Munro hasn't put bat on ball in his first three deliveries, but succeeds on the final ball of the over, squeezing a single to retain strike.
*****
10:33am - Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bowl first, sending New Zealand in to bat.
Blackcaps skipper Kane Williamson admits he would have bowled first too, so no-one really wanted to bat early. This also means the home team will have batted first in all three encounters, so they don't get to practice chasing runs.
There's only one change to the NZ line-up - Lockie Ferguson comes in for Trent Boult. That means Doug Bracewell misses out altogether through this series.
New Zealand: Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Kane Williamson (capt), Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, James Neesham, Tim Seifert, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Lockie Ferguson
Sri Lanka: Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka, Thisara Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Lasith Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Pradeep
*****
Kia ora, good morning and welcome to our coverage of the third one-day international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Nelson.
Of course, the Blackcaps have already wrapped up this three-match series, winning the opening two encounters at Mount Maunganui, so there's a feeling they will rest some of their front-line players - principally opening bowlers Trent Boult and Tim Southee - and play others who are battling for spots at the World Cup in May/June/July.
We can probably expect to see Doug Bracewell make his first appearance of the series, with Lockie Ferguson perhaps returning, after missing selection for the second ODI.
The batting line-up should remain fairly settled, with no other real options available in the current squad.
Everyone in the top order has scored runs, but with the exception of Martin Guptill in the opening encounter, no-one has gone on to reach triple figures. The Bay Oval pitch was obviously batter-friendly, so much will depend on prevailing conditions at Saxton Oval.
The Blackcaps won't want to just throw this game away either, with Sri Lanka looming as their opening pool opponents at the World Cup.
Join us closer to 11am for the toss, line-ups and start of play.
Newshub.
