Cardiff (Agencies): New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by ten wickets in the World Cup 2019 match on Saturday.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bowl first against Sri Lanka in their opening game at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Kiwis restricted Sri Lanka to 136 runs in 29.2 overs and chased the target in 16.1 overs.
Paceman Tim Southee missed out due to a calf injury as the Kiwis, runners-up in the 2015 edition, went in with two all-rounders in their starting line-up.
Batsman Henry Nicholls was also injured, with Mitchell Santner the only spinner in the side.
“Just one spinner and two all-rounders. That helps with the balance,” Williamson said at the toss.
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne admitted he would also have bowled first to take advantage of the green tinge on the pitch.
Sri Lanka, World Cup winners in 1996, are ninth in the one-day rankings and have been given little chance in the 10-team tournament.
Squads:
Sri Lanka: 1 Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), 2 Lahiru Thirimanne, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Kusal Perera, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Thisara Perera, 8 Jeevan Mendis, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Suranga Lakmal
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Matt Henry
