The third and final one-day international match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka on Tuesday was abandoned after just 21 overs of play due to persistent rain in Pallekele.
As the rain refused to let up, the referees officially called off the match at 7:45 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. GMT).
The match was a dead rubber, with Sri Lanka having already won the series 2-0, following their thrilling three-wicket victory on Sunday.
This was Sri Lanka’s fifth one-day victory this year.
“We have had a very good year,” said Sri Lankan skipper Charith Asalanka.
“We worked hard this year,” he said. “We wanted to give the players a fair ride and that trust is paying off.”
Before the rain hit, New Zealand looked set to put up a decent total after winning the toss and deciding to bat first.
A solid 88-run partnership for the second wicket between Will Young and Henry Nicholls propelled them to 112 for 1 in 21 overs before it started raining.
Young was unbeaten on 56 off 68 balls. The right-handed batsman’s half-century, his ninth in a one-day international, featured eight boundaries.
At the other end, Nicholls was 46 and not out on 51 balls.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner called the elimination a “disgrace”.
“We got off to a good start and it was a very good wicket,” he said. “We were hoping for a big score.”
Sri Lanka had an early breakthrough when Asalanka made a sensational dive to dismiss opener Tim Robinson, giving Mohamed Shiraz his first international wicket.
But New Zealand consolidated from there.
After taking an unassailable lead before the match, the hosts rested Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis and Asitha Fernando.
Left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage was also given a break, with all-rounder Chamindu Wickramasinghe making his debut.
New Zealand also reshuffled their lineup, bringing in pacer Adam Milne and debutant all-rounder Zakary Foulkes in place of Nathan Smith and Jacob Duffy.
Foulkes, however, had no luck with either the stick or the ball.
The one-day series followed a T20 series that ended in a 1-1 stalemate.
New Zealand will now host England for a three-match Test series which begins later this month.
“We’re going to go home and get ready for this series,” Santner said.
str-sai/bsp