The New Zealand cricket team toured Sri Lanka in August and September 2019 to play two Test and three Twenty20 International (T20I) matches. The Test series formed a part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship.[1][2] The fixtures for the tour were confirmed in July 2019.[3] Originally, the first two T20I matches were scheduled to be played at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo,[4] but were moved to the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.[5]
Sri Lanka Cricket named a twenty-two man squad for the Test series,[6] which was trimmed down to the final fifteen cricketers.[7] The Test series was drawn 1–1, with Sri Lanka winning the first match and New Zealand winning the second.[8]
In the third and final T20I match, Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga became the first bowler to take 100 wickets in Twenty20 International cricket.[9] Malinga took a hat-trick, and four wickets with four balls, in the third over of his spell.[10] He was the first bowler to take four wickets in four consecutive balls twice in international cricket, after previously doing so against South Africa in the 2007 Cricket World Cup.[11] He also became the first bowler to take five hat-tricks across all formats of international cricket.[12] Sri Lanka won the match, though New Zealand won the T20I series 2–1.[13]
Dilruwan Perera was added to Sri Lanka's squad for the second Test.[18] Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of New Zealand's T20I squad with a fractured thumb.[19] Hamish Rutherford was added to New Zealand's T20I squad for the third match, after Martin Guptill was ruled out of the final fixture due to injury.[20]