Christchurch, January 2:

New Zealand had to work hard to reach a paltry target of 110 for victory against Sri Lanka and take a 2-1 lead in their one-day series.

The third match in the series was shortened to 46 overs and New Zealand’s victory target was reduced to 110 from 113 under the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The home side appeared set to saunter to victory but by the 15th over, New Zealand had tumbled to 70-6 and the result was in the balance. Peter Fulton steadied the innings with an unbeaten 43. Ruchira Perera took 2-37 and Dilhara Fernando’s 2-34 for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s batsmen never seemed at ease and the tourists were unable to gain momentum amid the rapid fall of wickets.

New Zealand’s Michael Mason shone with the ball, finishing with 4-24. Left arm spinner Vettori ended with 2-7 off his 5.2 overs. Wicketkeeper Brendon McCallum played brilliantly behind the stumps with three excellent catches.

Sri Lanka was staggering at 61-5 by the 16th over and managed only 51 runs for the remaining five wickets.