New Zealand ended day 4 of the 2nd ICC Test Championship game against Sri Lanka on 382/5, adding 186 runs to their overnight score of 196/4 on a rain-hit day. The visitors lead by 138 runs, going into day 5.
More rain during the early part of the day meant play on day 4 could only begin at 1.40pm local time. BJ Watling and day 3 centurion Tom Latham continued from where they left off, looking comfortable against both pace and spin.
The pair added 73 runs to the overnight score, before a rare miss from Latham saw him dismissed lbw by off-spinner Dilruwan Perera for 154. A 99-run opening session signaled New Zealand’s intent on what looked like a pitch that was offering little to nothing.
Colin de Grandhomme used the long handle to good effect in the post-tea session, racing to 50 off just 45 deliveries, breathing life into a game which looked like it was heading for a draw. The big man took a liking to the left arm spin of Lasith Embuldeniya in particular, smashing 2 sixes and a four off the youngster in the 19-run 99th over of the visitors’ innings. He did have his share of luck however, when Dinesh Chandimal, on the field for the injured Niroshan Dickwella, put down a tough chance behind the stumps when de Grandhomme was on 13 – Embuldeniya the unlucky bowler, who would eventually go on to bear the brunt of de Grandhomme’s attack.
Dhananjaya, Latham tons leave game in the balance
The Sri Lankans looked flat in the field as the conditions and New Zeland’s batting offered no respite. De Grandhomme and Watling put on 113 runs for the 6th wicket, with the former doing the bulk of the scoring as he finished with 83 off 75 deliveries, inclusive of 5x4s and 5x6s.
Sri Lanka were dealt a heavy blow on day 4 when it was revealed that skipper Dimuth Karunaratne had suffered a quadricep tear in the field last afternoon. With the time he’s been off the field, Karunaratne will also be unable to open the batting – having to come in at No. 7 or lower as the law dictates.
Photos: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand | 2nd Test – Day 4
Niroshan Dickwella too did not take the field today, having injured his right pinkie finger while gathering a delivery from Lahiru Kumara yesterday.
After losing the 1st Test, New Zealand were intent on forcing the pace in the game, in a bid to get a win which would translate to 60 Test Championship points. The Sri Lankan weather did not come to their aid, but the Kiwis did the maximum they could in the time available on day 4 to ensure they still had a chance of winning the game, albeit a small one, going into the final day.
Watch Live – New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2019 – 2nd Test Match
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c BJ Watling b Tim Southee | 65 | 165 | 6 | 0 | 39.39 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | c Kane Williamson b William Somerville | 2 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 5.71 |
| Kusal Mendis | c BJ Watling b Colin de Grandhomme | 32 | 70 | 4 | 0 | 45.71 |
| Angelo Mathews | c BJ Watling b Trent Boult | 2 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 6.90 |
| Kusal Perera | lbw b Trent Boult | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | b Trent Boult | 109 | 148 | 16 | 2 | 73.65 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c BJ Watling b Tim Southee | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dilruwan Perera | lbw b Ajaz Patel | 13 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 24.07 |
| Suranga Lakmal | c BJ Watling b Tim Southee | 10 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 41.67 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | lbw b Tim Southee | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45.45 |
| Extras | 6 (b 1 , lb 2 , nb 3, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 244/10 (90.2 Overs, RR: 2.7) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-29 (14.4) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-79 (32.3) Kusal Mendis, 3-93 (41.1) Angelo Mathews, 4-93 (41.5) Kusal Perera, 5-130 (57.3) Dimuth Karunaratne, 6-130 (57.6) Niroshan Dickwella, 7-171 (74.5) Dilruwan Perera, 8-214 (83.5) Suranga Lakmal, 9-224 (85.1) Lasith Embuldeniya, 10-244 (90.2) Dhananjaya de Silva, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 22.2 | 6 | 75 | 3 | 3.38 | |
| Tim Southee | 29 | 7 | 63 | 4 | 2.17 | |
| Colin de Grandhomme | 17 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 2.06 | |
| William Somerville | 6 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 16 | 4 | 48 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeet Raval | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Dilruwan Perera | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Tom Latham | lbw b Dilruwan Perera | 154 | 251 | 15 | 0 | 61.35 |
| Kane Williamson | c Kusal Mendis b Lahiru Kumara | 20 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 71.43 |
| Ross Taylor | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 23 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 53.49 |
| Henry Nicholls | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Dilruwan Perera | 15 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 32.61 |
| BJ Watling | not out | 105 | 226 | 4 | 0 | 46.46 |
| Colin de Grandhomme | c Lahiru Kumara b Lasith Embuldeniya | 83 | 77 | 5 | 5 | 107.79 |
| Tim Southee | not out | 24 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 240.00 |
| Extras | 7 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 3, pen 0) |
| Total | 431/6 (115 Overs, RR: 3.75) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-1 (3.1) Jeet Raval, 2-34 (12.5) Kane Williamson, 3-84 (26.2) Ross Taylor, 4-126 (42.3) Henry Nicholls, 5-269 (85.3) Tom Latham, 6-382 (110.2) Colin de Grandhomme, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilruwan Perera | 37 | 4 | 114 | 3 | 3.08 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 5 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Suranga Lakmal | 11 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 2.91 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 25 | 0 | 115 | 1 | 4.60 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 37 | 4 | 156 | 2 | 4.22 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Thirimanne | run out (Ajaz Patel) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Perera | c BJ Watling b Trent Boult | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | b William Somerville | 20 | 63 | 3 | 0 | 31.75 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Ross Taylor b Colin de Grandhomme | 7 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 23.33 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Tim Southee b Ajaz Patel | 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 5.26 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Tom Latham b Ajaz Patel | 51 | 161 | 4 | 0 | 31.68 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Tim Southee | 21 | 70 | 2 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Dilruwan Perera | c Ross Taylor b Tim Southee | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Suranga Lakmal | c Tom Latham b William Somerville | 14 | 45 | 2 | 1 | 31.11 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | c Kane Williamson b Trent Boult | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 45.45 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 122/10 (70.2 Overs, RR: 1.73) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-0 (0.5) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-4 (2.2) Kusal Perera, 3-11 (11.3) Angelo Mathews, 4-22 (18.3) Dhananjaya de Silva, 5-32 (21.5) Kusal Mendis, 6-73 (43.5) Dimuth Karunaratne, 7-75 (47.4) Dilruwan Perera, 8-115 (65.3) Suranga Lakmal, 9-118 (69.3) Niroshan Dickwella, 10-122 (70.2) Lasith Embuldeniya, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 14.2 | 8 | 17 | 2 | 1.20 | |
| Tim Southee | 12 | 6 | 15 | 2 | 1.25 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 19 | 3 | 31 | 2 | 1.63 | |
| Colin de Grandhomme | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2.00 | |
| William Somerville | 21 | 6 | 49 | 2 | 2.33 | |
