Scorecard

Daniel Vettori's unbeaten 46 enabled New Zealand stage a late rally and post a decent 165 against Sri Lanka in a Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Friday.

He hit five boundaries in his 53-ball knock, and added 47 runs for the last wicket with Jeetan Patel (10) to rescue New Zealand after they were reduced to 118 for 9 in the 39th over.

Veteran off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan caused the most damage, claiming 4 for 23 in his 10 overs. Part-time spinner Sanath Jayasuriya gave him good support, taking 2 for 26 in 10 overs.

Nathan Astle was the only other Kiwi batsman who offered resistance, scoring 42 from 74 balls, as the rest failed to get going on a slow pitch.

New Zealand innings:

New Zealand made two changes in their side, including pacer Shane Bond and all-rounder Scott Styris in place of Peter Fulton and James Franklin.

Fleming, who appeared in his 193rd ODI as captain, equalled former Sri Lanka skipper Arjuna Ranatunga's record of leading the country in most One-Day Internationals.

However, it was not a memorable day for him with the bat, as he was dismissed leg before wicket to Chaminda Vaas in the fifth over for 0.

Vincent and Nathan Astle then played cautiously, with the sole intention of keeping wickets intact, as New Zealand crawled to 30 for 1 after 10 overs.

Vincent's patience finally grew thin; he was bowled by Farveez Maharoof for 13 (41 balls, 1 boundary) trying to lift the scoring rate. He tried to play Maharoof across the line, but failed to connect as the ball crashed on to his stumps in the 12th over.

Hamish Marshall didn't last long either, offering Tillakaratne Dilshan a simple catch off Lasith Malinga for 4, which left New Zealand in trouble at 56 for 3 in the 17th over.

Except for Astle, who played with a degree of comfort, all the other batsmen struggled on the slow Mumbai pitch.

New Zealand slipped further when Scott Styris was caught behind off left-arm spinner Sanath Jayasuriya for 3.

Tall all-rounder Jacob Oram had no clue to the special 'doosra' delivery from veteran off-spinner Muralitharan. The tall left-hander played down the wrong line to a ball that pitched on middle stump and crashed into the leg stump; the batsman had anticipated the regular off-spinning delivery.

Muralitharan struck in his first over, and judging from the help he was getting from the pitch, he seemed set for more. He claimed the vital wicket of Astle in his third over. The right-hander looked set for a big innings, but an ambitious shot on the off-side saw him offer an easy catch to Malinga on the square boundary.

Astle scored 42 from 74 balls, inclusive of six boundaries, and was the only New Zealand batsman who looked in control. Except for a missed chance when on 19 in the 15th over, he rarely looked in trouble.

New Zealand were reeling at 87 for 6 in the 30th over and it seemed the match would be yet another low-scoring encounter.

Brendon McCullum played patiently for 30 balls, but his frustration got the better of him. The Kiwi wicketkeeper, who scored a painstaking 9, tried to reverse sweep Muralitharan but the ball hit his bat on to his pads, straight to Jayawardene in the slips.

Kyle Mills (6) became Muralitharan's fourth victim of the innings and Shane Bond fell to Jayasuriya as New Zealand slipped to 118 for 9 in the 39th over.

It seemed a matter of time before Sri Lanka would finish off the innings.

But Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel fought back valiantly. Vettori played a vital knock under difficult conditions as the final pair aimed to play out the 50 overs and take whatever they could get.

Vettori took 19 runs off the 49th over from Vaas to help boost New Zealand's final tally and take them past 150.

Patel was the final wicket to fall, caught by Jayawardene off Malinga for 10 in the final over of the innings for 10 as New Zealand folded for 165 in 49.2 overs.

Vettori was left stranded on 46 from 53 balls, but crucially the last pair added 47 runs in 63 balls to help their team stage a late rally.

Fleming must be glad that his team managed to recover and score above the 150-run mark. The pitch is still on the slower side and he must be hoping that Patel and Vettori can also make their mark with the ball.

In their last match, they had shot out the South Africans for 108 on a quite similar pitch. But this time, they face the in-form Sri Lankans, who are much better players of spin. The key will be to claim Jayasuriya's wicket as early as possible, else he could just make all the difference.