SL v NZ | With the number of injuries, we might just rest completely ahead of the third T20I, says Tom Bruce
Tom Bruce reckons the team may have to skip training sessions altogether ahead of the third and final T20 against Sri Lanka on Friday. Four out of their 14-member squad has already suffered injuries, but it is likely that either Bruce or Ross Taylor will feature even if theyâre not 100% fit.
After earning a hard-fought draw in the Test series and claiming an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20s, New Zealand now faces the prospect of having just 10 fully fit players available for the final T20. Going into the match already missing Lockie Ferguson (fractured thumb) and Ross Taylor (hip flexor), two more players â Martin Guptill (abdominal) and Tom Bruce (knee) â were injured during their win in Colombo on Tuesday.
With the next match so soon, it leaves the Kiwis with little time to heal or call in the cavalry and thus, with no choice but to play either Taylor or Bruce, with both players indicating their respective injuries aren't overly serious.
"The boys will rest and recover tomorrow, and I'm not too sure if we'll have a training (session) the day before the game or not. Probably with the amount of injuries, we might just rest up again. I'll ice the knee and rest up for the next couple of days. I think it should be right, fingers crossed anyway. I think Guppy (Guptill) might be struggling a wee bit," Bruce told Radio Sport Breakfast.
"(It was) more of a precautionary measure, nothing major. I swung at the ball a bit too hard, swung and missed, and felt (the hip flexor) twinge a little bit," Taylor said when explaining his absence from Tuesday's match.
Meanwhile, retired Kiwi pacer, and currently, a TV commentator, Kyle Mills made light of the sideâs plight, pretending to warm up his shoulders while still in the box to indicate that he's willing to make a comeback if required.
On Tuesday, New Zealand's bowlers, led by pacemen Seth Rance and skipper Tim Southee, restricted Sri Lanka to 9-161 to set up the win. Rance picked up three wickets, while Southee returned with economical figures of two for 18 from his quota. For Sri Lanka, Avishka Fernando and Niroshan Dickwella put on 68 runs for the third wicket but the rest of the batting failed to impress.
Later, it was the 109-run fourth-wicket partnership between Bruce and Colin de Grandhomme that got the Blackcaps to the brink of victory. While de Grandhomme hit two fours and three sixes in his 46-ball 59 before falling to Isuru Udana, Bruce was run out at the start of the final over for 53, with his side still seven runs away from their target of 162. Daryll Mitchell was out next ball and Mitchell Santner had a narrow escape when he was dropped on the boundary by Shehan Jayasuriya off the third delivery, owing to an unfortunate collision with his teammate. Jayasuriya tripped onto the boundary ropes with the ball in his hand, costing the hosts six runs, before Santner hit the winning runs off a boundary from the fourth ball.Â
Sri Lankan skipper Lasith Malinga said the two fielders â Jayasuriya and Kusal Mendis â "are alright and will play the next game, hopefully".
