Udara Jayasundera and Kithruwan Vithanage made their case for test selection with valuable half centuries in the 2nd innings of the warm up match versus the New Zealand President’s XI earlier today.
The pair came together at the fall of the 1st wicket and put on 108 runs after Sri Lanka conceded a 206 run 1st innings lead to the hosts. The match ended in a draw.
Resuming on 288 for 7, the Kiwi overnight batsmen Shawn Hicks and Tim Johnston added a further 111 runs to the score in just over 15 overs. Johnston played the aggressor, making 62 off 74 balls. The Lankan bowlers struggled to find their rhythm as both Hicks and Johnston kept the scoreboard ticking and kept the spinners at bay. The breakthrough finally came when Skipper Angelo Mathews was forced to bring spearhead Dushmantha Chameera into the attack. The move paid off when the speedster picked up Johnston in his 1st over of the day. President’s XI skipper Ryan McCone declared at the fall of the 8th wicket to give his bowlers just over 70 overs to bowl the visitors out. Chameera was the standout for the visitors but the spinners failed to impress on their sole outing before the 1st test.
Dimuth Karunaratne was pushed down the order so that youngsters Kusal Mendis, Jayasundera and Vithanage could make their case to fill up the opening and number 3 slots. Mendis fell in the 3rd over, nicking to slip off Neil Wagner’s bowling. Mendis’ failure opened the door to both Jayasundera and Vithanage, who grabbed the opportunity and brought Sri Lanka to relative safety. Vithanage played the dominant role making 61 off 109 deliveries while Jayasundera played the anchor role. Vithanage’s dismissal brought Dinesh Chandimal in to bat and Jayasundera and he put on 43 runs. Chandimal would be disappointed he could not kick on and make a big score as he was dismissed when he was well set, trying to loft the ball over mid off. Jayasundera retired hurt on 52 but came back to bat once 2 more wickets fell. Kusal Perera and Dimuth Karunaratne made no significant contribution to the score but Skipper Mathews and Jayasundera guided the Lankans past the 1st innings deficit. Jayasundera fell in the 68th over and Mathews and Dilruwan Perera survived the last 4 overs to end the day on 226 for 6.
James Baker picked up Kusal Perera and Dinesh Chandimal to finish with figures of 2 for 21 while Wagner, McCone, Johnston and McEwan picked up a wicket a piece.
Sri Lanka will be disappointed with their showing in the sole warm up game before the 1st Test on the 10th but can take heart from the performances of Chameera, Jayasundera and Vithanage. The batsmen’s performances will at least make the decision regarding the opening and number 3 slots easier but performance of the bowlers will be something that needs to be improved upon if Sri Lanka are to put up a fight in the upcoming test series.
Sri Lanka 193 and 226/6 (71) (Udara Jayasundera 63, Kithruwan Vithanage 61, James Baker 2/21)
New Zealand President’s XI 399/8 Dec. (84.3) (en Smith 81, Shawn Hicks 79, Dushmantha Chameera 4/ 57)
Match Drawn
