Finn Allen slams fifth ODI fifty, completes 500 runs
New Zealand batting sensation Finn Allen slammed a quick-fire fifty in the opening ODI versus Sri Lanka on Saturday (March 25). The dashing opener gathered runs all over the park and ended up scoring 51 off 49 deliveries. His knock was studded with five boundaries and a couple of maximums. It was his fifth half-century in ODI cricket. Here are his stats.
An aggressive knock from Allen
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bowl at the Eden Park in Auckland. NZ were off to a fiery start as Allen went after the bowlers from the outset and made optimum utilization of the powerplay overs. He was involved in handy partnerships with Chad Bowes (14), Will Young (26), and Daryl Mitchell (47). Allen eventually fell prey to Chamika Karunaratne.
500 ODI runs for Allen
During the course of his knock, Allen raced past 500 ODI runs. He now owns 533 runs in 18 appearances in the format at 31.35. His strike rate in the format reads 95.01. While this was Allen's fifth fifty in ODI cricket, his highest score in the format (96) was recorded versus West Indies last year.
Summary of New Zealand's innings
Several NZ batters got starts in the contest but none of them were able to kick on. Stand-in skipper Tom Latham could only manage five as the Kiwis were reeling at 152/5 at one stage. Glenn Phillips (39) and debutant Rachin Ravindra (49) made handy contributions as NZ were folded for 274. Karunaratne claimed 4/43 in nine overs.
