World Twenty20: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand – live!

World Twenty20: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand – live!

16th over: New Zealand 141-3 (Taylor 13, Oram 0) So Dananjaya ends an eventful afternoon with the ball with a key wicket. Gutsy effort from him after getting hit in the face earlier. Jacob Oram comes in now.

It's a second wicket for Dananjaya and an end to Nicol's excellent innings. Caught comfortably at deep square leg after ballooning his shot skyward.

WICKET! New Zealand 137-3 (Nicol c Thirimanne b Dananjaya 58)

15.4 overs: New Zealand 137-2 (Nicol 58, Taylor 9) Dananjaya, still carrying the battle scars following that earlier incident, comes at Taylor round the wicket and while the batsman doesn't launch him over the boundary rope, he keeps the score ticking over.

15th over: New Zealand 133-2 (Nicol 57, Taylor 7) A Mendis gets hit for successive sixes through mid-wicket, and Nicol goes to 50! That will hurt Sri Lanka and Nicol, despite a slow start to his innings, has played quite brilliantly. He cuts one to the cover boundary to get another couple before replicating the same shot over mid-wicket for another six! Ding dang doo! Mendis is rattled here and he sends a wild one almost off the pitch – that's a wide and off the final ball Nicol gets another couple. 24 from the over, disastrous for Sri Lanka!

14th over: New Zealand 109-2 (Nicol 38, Taylor 4) J Mendis keeps it tight at the other end, and he goes for three runs with one leg by from the first five deliveries. Taylor gets a couple from the final ball, though, but that is still an excellent over. New Zealand are going to start hitting out soon one feels.

13th over: New Zealand 104-2 (Nicol 37, Taylor 1) Ross Taylor strides out into the middle and he gets off the mark with a single from his first ball. Five runs and a wicket from the over from A Mendis, and that could give Sri Lanka some momentum with seven overs remaining.

McCullom is caught on the square leg boundary, 25 off 16 deliveries for the birthday boy. Decent little knock though.

WICKET! New Zealand 99-2 (McCullom c Perera b A Mendis 25)

12th over: New Zealand 99-1 (Nicol 33, McCullom 25) Dananjaya picks himself up and with cotton wool stuffed up his nose, trots in again. His next delivery is a full toss that Nicol hits hard, but this time Dilshan scuttles across to prevent a four at long-on. Both McCullom and Nicol are trying to attack this young spinner, and the former charges down the wicket to smack an absolute beast for six over wide long-off.

11.1 overs: New Zealand 89-1 (Nicol 31, McCullom 17) Dananjaya has caught a stinger right in the face. Nicol smacked the ball back at the young spinner, and it came on too quickly for him to get hands to it, hitting him just below the eye. That's going to hurt. A dropped catch says the commentator!

11th over: New Zealand 89-1 (Nicol 31, McCullom 17) Excellent shot from Nicol off Mendis, he's really finding his groove after a slow start. Mendis drops one in a tad short and he sweeps it with pace between the fielders to the mid-wicket boundary. Sri Lanka need another wicket desperately here as McCullom swings and smacks another down the leg side, but that's only a single that is stopped acrobatically by the fielder on the rope.

10th over: New Zealand 80-1 (Nicol 25, McCullom 12) Dananjaya attempts a leg spinner with his first delivery of the over but it's a full toss that McCullom dispatches for another six, over the long on boundary! That wasn't as emphatic as the last but it's more runs on the board. The Kiwis are taking the attack to this young lad, who has been dealt a bit of a reality check after his first six balls. McCullom is beginning to score freely and putting the home side under real pressure.

9th over: New Zealand 68-1 (Nicol 24, McCullom 3) Sri Lanka persist with the spin as Jeevan Mendis trots up to the crease. McCullom is in a bit of pain out there, it looks as though he's got a little back strain, but tries to fight away the pain with a thwack down the ground. Nicol on strike again and he charges down the pitch and lifts one over long-on for the first six of the match!

8th over: New Zealand 59-1 (Nicol 17, McCullom 1) Brendon McCullum comes to the crease on his 31st birthday and he is basically coming in blind against this bowler. Excellent opening over from Dananjaya, full of variation and unpredictability.

The new boy gets his wicket as Guptill, who has batted so confidently, miscues a doosra and his leading edge flies all the way to long off. That's the breakthrough.

WICKET! New Zealand 57-1 (Guptill c Perera b Dananjaya 38)

7th over: New Zealand 55-0 (Nicol 15, Guptill 38) Oh dear, it's a handful of fresh air for Malinga down at third man. Angelo Matthews won't be happy with that as Guptill directs one behind square, the spin catching Malinga flat-footed and bouncing behind him over the boundary. Dilshan shows Malinga how it's done though, charging from deep mid-wicket across to the square leg boundary, where his dive saves a certain four. New Zealand have the bit between their teeth now and Nicol is even in on the act, thumping one down the ground for another four.

6th over: New Zealand 43-0 (Nicol 8, Guptill 33) The conditions are absolutely perfect for batting out there. There was a bit of early swing but that seems to have disappeared for now and the sun is beating overhead on a relatively new pitch that looks settled. Malinga comes in once again though and flummoxes Guptill with a slower delivery. They are pitching it pretty short to Guptill and he knows that, advancing down the pitch to swat Malinga back over his head for four. Still no wicket.

5th over: New Zealand 36-0 (Nicol 7, Guptill 27) Ajantha Mendis is brought into the attack with Jayawardene mixing it up again. But it's a pretty tame over from him, with Guptill and Nicol playing the ball around comfortably for ones and twos. Terrible fielding from Malinga at short third man, who wangs one in at the stumps only to miscue completely and cost his side two overthrows. Guptill then ends the over with a fine cut through the off side. New Zealand getting a foothold in this game now.

4th over: New Zealand 26-0 (Nicol 6, Guptill 18) Lasith Malinga is thrown into the attack and slings one into Guptill, who expertly turns it past square leg for another four. Jayawardene has decided that he wants a wicket to prevent these openers forming a partnership and despite that early boundary, Malinga's variation of pace is causing Nicol a few problems. He wants to get Guptill back on strike but can't pick the slower balls. Just as I say that he clips one off his legs, over backward square leg, for four. That'll help his confidence.

3rd over: New Zealand 17-0 (Nicol 2, Guptill 13) Kulasekara opens with a wide down the leg side before swinging one into Nicol's pads, a single going into the extras column. Guptill suddenly decides enough is and starts letting the willow fly. He smacks a full delivery over the bowlers head, the ball bouncing just before the boundary line and four runs added to the New Zealand tally. Guptill gets a wee bit excited by that though and attempts an audacious flick over mid-on, only to toe it slightly and find Perera who leaps high ... but he can't quite hold onto it! Guptill punishes Sri Lanka by guiding another to the third man boundary. That's more like it for the Kiwis.

2nd over: New Zealand 4-0 (Nicol 2, Guptill 2) Angelo Matthews is handed the white orb under the Pallekele sun. Kumar Sangakkara comes up to the stumps as Guptill guides one down to third man for a single. Nicol on the back foot plays one to mid-off and charges down the wicket, making it despite a hopeful shy at the stumps. The movement in the air is causing Guptill a few problems as he plays and misses twice in the corridor of uncertainty. Another fine over and Sri Lanka have started brilliantly.

1st over: New Zealand 2-0 (Nicol 1, Guptill 1) Immediate appeal for lbw against Nicol from Kulasekara's first delivery! But he had planted his foot a good stride forward and the ball hit him outside the line, although it would have gone on to hit middle stump. Nicol flicks one off his legs to get off the mark and put Guptill on strike for the first time. Kulasekara is getting plenty of swing out there and gazumps the batsman with his next effort, the ball almost played on by Guptill. However, he gets going with a single. Excellent first over.

Nuwan Kulasekara comes steaming in for the first over...

Here come the teams then, Martin Guptill and Rob Nicol to open the batting for New Zealand.

Blimey both national anthems took an absolute age.

Dananjaya Perera makes his debut for Sri Lanka today. There's a lot of mystery around his spin.

I say this morning, but it's the middle of the afternoon in Sri Lanka. New Zealand have won the toss for this Super Eight meeting and will have to withstand the onslaught from the likes of Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis.

New Zealand: MJ Guptill, JEC Franklin, BB McCullum†, LRPL Taylor*, RJ Nicol, JDP Oram, DL Vettori, KS Williamson, NL McCullum, TG Southee, KD Mills

Sri Lanka: TM Dilshan, DPMD Jayawardene*, KC Sangakkara†, HDRL Thirimanne, AD Mathews, BMAJ Mendis, NLTC Perera, KMDN Kulasekara, SL Malinga, BAW Mendis, MKPAD Perera

Morning everyone. A bit of a taster ahead of England's game with West Indies later today, and New Zealand will bat first this morning in Pallekele.