Nathan Smith turns into Superman, makes a phenomenal catch and kick from Eshan Malinga in NZ-SL clash
New Zealand all-rounder Nathan Smith produced an acrobatic fielding effort during the second ODI against Sri Lanka at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday, January 8. Nathan Smith took a brilliant catch on the boundary to dismiss Sri Lanka’s lower order batsman Eshan Malinga. in a recent match.
New Zealand were asked to bat first in the match in the rain, which was reduced to 37 overs. They scored a total of 255/9 with Rachin Ravindra (79 off 63) and Mark Chapman (62 off 52) scoring 50. Maheesh Theekshana (4/44) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2/39) were the top wicket takers for the Sri Chains.
Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a bad start against New Zealand
Sri Lanka’s chase got off to a poor start as the New Zealand pacers took advantage of the conditions, using swing, seam and bounce to trouble the Sri Lankan top order. Both openers failed, and Kusal Mendis was cheaply dismissed. Bizarre running out Charith Asalanka he left them at 22/4 inside the powerplay of runs.
Kaminda Mendis he responded with a solid 64 off 66 balls, including five fours and three sixes. He forged important partnerships, adding 57 runs with Janith Liyanage (22 off 31) for the fifth wicket and 47 runs with Chamindu Wickramasinghe (17 off 27). However, he was replaced in the 29th completed chase.
Watch: Nathan Smith takes a stunner on the boundary to dismiss Eshan Malinga
The incident happened on the last ball of the 29th over of Sri Lanka’s innings. Eshan Malinga tried to take William O’Rourke’s short and wide shot over the keeper for a boundary. However, the ball flew off the link of the bat towards fine third man, where Nathan Smith was standing.
Nathan Smith, who had made a wrong pitch earlier in the day, redeemed himself by jumping horizontally and grabbing the ball with both hands just before it hit the ground. This stunning effort was hailed as a potential catch series. Malinga was dismissed for 4 runs off 5 balls, which included one boundary ball.
The Black Caps took to their social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter) to share the incredible catch with the caption, “Nathan Smith! Seddon Park boundary shouter to dismiss Eshan Malinga 🔥 #NZvSL #CricketNation.”
Here’s a video of Nathan Smith’s acrobatic effort in the field:
Nathan Smith! Seddon Park boundary shouter to dismiss Eshan Malinga 🔥 #NZcWITHL #CrIcketNandtIonn pIc.twItter.conm/withQKm8andWITH07F
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) JandninandrMr 8, 2025
A good time to play for the boys – Mitchell Santner
Sri Lanka were bowled out for 142 runs, resulting in New Zealand clinching the three-match ODI series with one game to spare. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised his team’s performance.
“We opened really well, lost wickets in the middle but the Seamers did their thing on a wicket that offered little. We knew we had to bowl well at the start, credit to Theekshana and he bowled wide and made us hit more sides and kept have been their lines and lengths for a long time and made it a challenge for us It’s usually a swing under the lights here, but the bounce our bowlers have shown to be a challenging time for the boys,” he said Santner.
