In a display that helped Sri Lanka avoid a whitewash, player of the match Kusal Perera hit a scintillating 101 from 46 balls, blasting all but one Black Caps bowler while pacing an innings of 218-5.
In the Black Caps reply, Rachin Ravindra (69 off 39) and Daryl Mitchell (35 off 17) gave the hosts a chance of a clean sweep but regular wickets helped Sri Lanka hold their nerve and triumph by seven runs.
Duffy was the only New Zealand bowler to avoid damage in Perera’s batting onslaught, claiming 1-30 from four overs while his fellow frontline bowlers each returned economy rates of more than 11.
That marked a third straight impressive outing for the 30-year-old, who delivered key spells in wins by eight runs and 45 runs in the first two matches at Bay Oval.
Those fixtures provided opportunities that were seized by the inexperienced trio of Tim Robinson, Mitch Hay and Zak Foulkes. Only Hay will remain for the ODI series – and may be replaced behind the stumps by Tom Latham – while the uncapped Bevon Jacobs also departs the squad.
Will Young and Will O’Rourke are the other additions as the Black Caps build towards next month’s Champions Trophy, increasing the intrigue of a three-match series that starts on Sunday at the Basin Reserve.
And after being stuck on the fringes of the squad for more than four years while playing only 25 white-ball matches, Duffy hopes to have the ball in his hands both this weekend in Wellington and next month in Pakistan.
“It’s just nice to be able to contribute towards a New Zealand team,” Duffy said. “I’ve been around awhile now, doing little bits here and there without any genuine match-winning contributions.
Mitch Hay and Jacob Duffy celebrate a wicket. Photo / Photosport
“So to have that sort of impact on a game and a series is pretty special. Hopefully more to come.”
Duffy has been the beneficiary of the retirement of Tim Southee, a mainstay of the Black Caps seam stocks in all three formats. The Otago veteran will now be competing for the new ball alongside O’Rourke and Matt Henry – with Nathan Smith aiming for an appearance after being omitted in all three T20s – and believes a consistent run can only aid his form.
“In my role – sitting behind Tim for a while, really – you might get a game here or two games there,” Duffy said. “You just don’t quite get the comfortability at international level and a bit of momentum.
“To get a whole series and go out and perform and start to feel a little bit more at home, that’s a huge mental positive for me. So hopefully more of that come the ODI series. I’m just hungry for more international cricket.”
Duffy’s appetite will surely be sated by skipper Mitchell Santner, who relied on the right-armer at key periods throughout the T20 series. A three-wicket over in game one might have been the difference between Santner starting his reign with success or failure, given that match was in Sri Lanka’s grasp until Duffy wrestled it away.
“They put us under serious pressure through the whole series,” Duffy said. “If you look back to game one, they had that in their hands and we were able to swing that one.
“To be able to go 2-0 was huge and it’s going to be a quality series coming up in the ODIs. We’ve got our hands full with these guys.”
The Alternative Commentary Collective is covering every home Black Caps test this summer. Listen to live commentary here.
Kris Shannon has been a sports journalist since 2011 and covers a variety of codes for the Herald. Reporting on Grant Elliott’s six at Eden Park in 2015 was a career highlight.
