Sri Lanka opt to field in 37-overs-a-side contest after long rain delay

Toss Sri Lanka chose to field vs New Zealand

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first under cloudy skies in Hamilton, after rain delayed the start of the second ODI by two-and-a-half hours.

The match will now be a 37-overs-a-side contest, with the first powerplay eight overs long, and two bowlers allowed to deliver a maximum of eight overs.

In the first match, Sri Lanka’s top order had been blown away by New Zealand’s seamers first up, and New Zealand won the game by nine wickets – with 142 balls in the bank – chasing 179 for victory.

Both teams made a change to their XIs. Tom Latham came back after missing the first ODI because of a side strain, and displaced wicketkeeper-batter Mitch Hay in the XI. Sri Lanka, meanwhile, have brought in a spinner in Maheesh Theekshana in place of fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, who went wicketless and gave away eight runs an over in Wellington.

There could be more weather around later, and the damp outfield could have a say at what is a high-scoring venue – the boundaries at Seddon Park tend to be among the easier ones to clear on the international circuit. There is expected to be some movement available for the quicks with the new ball.

The second powerplay will run from the start of the ninth over to the end of the 30th. The third powerplay is seven overs long.

New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Mark Chapman, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Nathan Smith, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Jacob Duffy, Will O’Rourke

Sri Lanka: 1 Pathum Nissanka, 2 Avishka Fernando, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Kamindu Mendis, 5 Charith Asalanka (capt), 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Chamindu Wickramasinghe, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Eshan Malinga, 11 Asitha Fernando

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf