With three quick wickets falling, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva combined for an unbeaten half-century partnership, steering Sri Lanka to safety at the end of day three against New Zealand in the first Test.
New Zealand resumed their first innings at 255/4, but after adding just 14 runs, Jayasuriya broke the crucial fifth-wicket stand as Blundell, who had been solid at the crease, gloved a delivery to slip.
Soon after, the other overnight batter, Mitchell, completed his 11th Test fifty. However, his well-composed knock ended in a run out, followed by Santner edging one off the left-arm spinner in the same over.
The new ball worked wonders for the hosts, who continued to pick up wickets. Jayasuriya castled the opposite captain in his next over, reducing New Zealand to 297/8.
With only two wickets remaining, Phillips took charge, pushing New Zealand ahead with some clean hitting. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 340, as Ramesh cleaned up the last two tail-enders.
Phillips remained unbeaten on 49, striking two fours and five sixes off 48 balls, helping New Zealand claim a 35-run first-innings lead.
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All ten wickets fell to spin, with Jayasuriya utilizing the new ball effectively to finish with figures of 4/136, while Ramesh also claimed three wickets.
Once again, the opening stand lasted just under three overs as Nissanka fell cheaply to O’Rourke for the second time, courtesy of a one-handed stunner by Southee at slip.
However, Karunaratne and Chandimal steadied the ship for Sri Lanka, putting together a mammoth 147-run partnership for the second wicket, with both senior batters reaching their respective fifties.
The visitors made an impressive comeback with three wickets in quick succession. Ajaz Patel broke the partnership when the opener, attempting to sweep, dragged the ball onto his stumps and perished for a well-made 83.
O’Rourke then struck twice in quick succession. In the very next over, Chandimal fell to a New Zealand trap, flicking the ball straight to the leg gully after making 61. The first-innings centurion, Kamindu Mendis, departed soon after.
At 178/4, Mathews and Dhananjaya revived the innings, batting patiently as they put up an unbeaten half-century stand, ensuring no further damage was done in the final session.
Both batters remained not out on 34 apiece, with Sri Lanka leading by 202 runs when stumps were called on day three.
With tomorrow named as a rest day due to the Presidential Election in Sri Lanka, day four action will commence on Sunday.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 305 (91.5) Kamindu Mendis 114, Kusal Mendis 50, Will O’Rourke 5/55, Glenn Phillips 2/52 & 237/4 (72) Dimuth Karunaratne 83, Dinesh Chandimal 61, Will O’Rourke 3/37, Ajaz Patel 1/68
New Zealand 340 (90.5) Tom Latham 70, Daryl Mitchell 57, Kane Williamson 55, Prabath Jayasuriya 4/136, Ramesh Mendis 3/101, Dhananjaya De Silva 2/31
Day 3 Stumps.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b William O’Rourke | 27 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 108.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Tom Blundell b William O’Rourke | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Michael Bracewell b Tim Southee | 30 | 71 | 3 | 0 | 42.25 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Tom Blundell b William O’Rourke | 36 | 116 | 3 | 0 | 31.03 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Mitchell Santner b Ajaz Patel | 114 | 173 | 11 | 0 | 65.90 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | b Glenn Phillips | 11 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 45.83 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Tim Southee b Glenn Phillips | 50 | 68 | 7 | 0 | 73.53 |
| Ramesh Mendis | lbw b William O’Rourke | 14 | 49 | 2 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | lbw b Ajaz Patel | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Asitha Fernando | b William O’Rourke | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 19 (b 4 , lb 10 , nb 4, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 305/10 (91.5 Overs, RR: 3.32) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Southee | 14 | 2 | 48 | 1 | 3.43 | |
| William O’Rourke | 18.5 | 4 | 55 | 5 | 2.97 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 20 | 4 | 60 | 2 | 3.00 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 19 | 2 | 64 | 0 | 3.37 | |
| Glenn Phillips | 18 | 0 | 52 | 2 | 2.89 | |
| Rachin Ravindra | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Latham | c Sadeera Samarawickrama b Prabath Jayasuriya | 70 | 111 | 6 | 0 | 63.06 |
| Devon Conway | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 17 | 59 | 1 | 0 | 28.81 |
| Kane Williamson | c Kusal Mendis b Dhananjaya de Silva | 55 | 104 | 4 | 1 | 52.88 |
| Rachin Ravindra | b Dhananjaya de Silva | 39 | 48 | 4 | 0 | 81.25 |
| Daryl Mitchell | run out (Kusal Mendis) | 57 | 86 | 7 | 1 | 66.28 |
| Tom Blundell | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Prabath Jayasuriya | 25 | 65 | 1 | 1 | 38.46 |
| Glenn Phillips | not out | 49 | 48 | 2 | 5 | 102.08 |
| Mitchell Santner | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Tim Southee | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Ajaz Patel | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 |
| William O’Rourke | b Ramesh Mendis | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Extras | 15 (b 8 , lb 3 , nb 2, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 340/10 (90.5 Overs, RR: 3.74) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 7 | 1 | 25 | 0 | 3.57 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 12 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 2.33 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 7 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 4.43 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 23.5 | 1 | 101 | 3 | 4.30 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 40 | 5 | 136 | 4 | 3.40 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | c Tim Southee b William O’Rourke | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | b Ajaz Patel | 83 | 127 | 6 | 0 | 65.35 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Tom Latham b William O’Rourke | 61 | 150 | 6 | 0 | 40.67 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Mitchell Santner b Ajaz Patel | 50 | 111 | 5 | 0 | 45.05 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Mitchell Santner b William O’Rourke | 13 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 108.33 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | st Tom Blundell b Ajaz Patel | 40 | 77 | 4 | 0 | 51.95 |
| Kusal Mendis | b Ajaz Patel | 23 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 76.67 |
| Ramesh Mendis | lbw b Ajaz Patel | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 5.56 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c William O’Rourke b Mitchell Santner | 11 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 45.83 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Kane Williamson b Ajaz Patel | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 25 (b 11 , lb 8 , nb 4, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 309/10 (94.2 Overs, RR: 3.28) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William O’Rourke | 17 | 2 | 49 | 3 | 2.88 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 30 | 8 | 90 | 6 | 3.00 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 14.2 | 2 | 51 | 1 | 3.59 | |
| Tim Southee | 16 | 4 | 39 | 0 | 2.44 | |
| Glenn Phillips | 12 | 1 | 50 | 0 | 4.17 | |
| Rachin Ravindra | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2.20 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Latham | lbw b Dhananjaya de Silva | 28 | 68 | 2 | 0 | 41.18 |
| Devon Conway | b Asitha Fernando | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Kane Williamson | st Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 30 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 65.22 |
| Rachin Ravindra | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 92 | 168 | 9 | 1 | 54.76 |
| Daryl Mitchell | b Ramesh Mendis | 8 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 30.77 |
| Tom Blundell | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 30 | 43 | 4 | 0 | 69.77 |
| Glenn Phillips | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Mitchell Santner | c Pathum Nissanka b Ramesh Mendis | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 9.09 |
| Tim Southee | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 22.22 |
| Ajaz Patel | not out | 2 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 9.09 |
| William O’Rourke | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 6 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 211/10 (71.4 Overs, RR: 2.94) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramesh Mendis | 25 | 3 | 81 | 3 | 3.24 | |
| Asitha Fernando | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2.50 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 30.4 | 7 | 68 | 4 | 2.24 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 12 | 4 | 32 | 1 | 2.67 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7.50 | |
