Sri Lanka lost 5 middle-order wickets for just 18 runs as New Zealand took a slight edge of the opening Test in the two-match series after the second day’s play at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
After restricting the visitors to 249 in the first session, the Lankan batsmen flopped against the left-arm spin of Ajaz Patel, who took 5 for 76 to leave the hosts reeling at 227/7 at stumps.
After stuttering at 161 for 7, wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella and the hero with the ball early on, Suranga Lakmal somewhat rescued Sri Lanka with an unbroken 66-run stand, the second highest stand for the hosts in this innings to keep them alive in the contest.
Dickwella, as always, used his favourite stroke – the reverse and conventional sweep to rotate the strike, while Lakmal supported bravely.
With Sri Lanka having to bat fourth on this pitch, the efforts of the middle order batsmen were dismal considering no team has chased more than 99 runs to record a successful chase in the fourth and last innings in a Test match at this venue.
However, Patel bowled beautifully on a pitch which has started to crumble. He read the pace and the nature of the surface well to use the dip of his slow-left armers to great effect.
Uncannily, throughout the match, wickets fell right before the end of a session. Thirimanne continued the trend from day one when he had a brain fade moment by coming down the track to take on Patel and got stumped to end the 27-run opening stand.
Dananjaya, Taylor star on rain-shortened day
After lunch, Karunaratne, despite getting a good start, failed to get in line properly as Patel struck him plumb in front. Mendis and Mathews collected the occasional boundary but had to dig deep to add 77 runs for the third wicket.
Mathews, in particular, didn’t find it easy going on this surface but battled hard whereas Mendis looked fluent as always against the spinners.
Mendis, patiently waited to notch up his 10th half-century but in the very next ball, the penultimate ball in the post-lunch session, he went for an expansive cover drive and edged to first slip.
After the Tea break, Kusal Perera got himself to an uncomfortable position, while trying to upper-cut Trent Boult albeit he just hung his bat out wandering as the ball lobbed to point after taking the edge.
Dhananjaya De Silva, found another soft way of getting out as he hit one straight back to Patel, who continued to torment the home team.
The senior man, Mathews, just like Mendis, fell right after notching up his fifty as he got a near-perfect delivery which spun from the line of the stumps to take the edge as Patel completed his second five-wicket haul in Tests.
Off-spinner Will Somerville, who bowled a tad faster throughout the day, joined the party when he dismissed Akila Dananjaya for a duck as Sri Lanka were found in trouble at 161 for 7 after being at a healthy position of 143 for 2 at one stage.
Photos: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand | 1st Test – Day 2
Earlier in the first session, the hosts struck gold in the first ball of the second over when Lakmal got the better of Ross Taylor, who failed to add to his overnight score of 86, nicking behind loosely in the first ball he faced in the morning.
Lakmal kept on pegging at an impressive length, attacking the stumps. He persisted on that channel all morning on an unresponsive surface. However, he was successful again when he managed to put doubt in Mitchell Santner’s mind as the left-hander shouldered a delivery, which struck plumb in front.
Tim Southee made a disastrous call for a run and was stranded mid-way on the pitch as the Kiwis were restricted to 222 for 8 after being 203 for 5 overnight.
The tail-enders Trent Boult and Will Somerville defied the Lankan spinners, even though the former, funnily managed one through the grill of his helmet as well.
After the second new ball was taken, Lakmal came back for another spell and cleaned up the tail in two consecutive deliveries to end on 4 for 29 in 15.2 overs.
Watch Live – New Zealand tour of Sri Lanka 2019 – 1st Test Match
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeet Raval | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Akila Dananjaya | 33 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 39.76 |
| Tom Latham | c Niroshan Dickwella b Akila Dananjaya | 30 | 88 | 3 | 0 | 34.09 |
| Kane Williamson | c Dimuth Karunaratne b Akila Dananjaya | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ross Taylor | c Niroshan Dickwella b Suranga Lakmal | 86 | 132 | 6 | 0 | 65.15 |
| Henry Nicholls | lbw b Akila Dananjaya | 42 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 53.85 |
| BJ Watling | lbw b Akila Dananjaya | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Mitchell Santner | lbw b Suranga Lakmal | 13 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 30.95 |
| Tim Southee | run out (Dhananjaya de Silva) | 14 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 73.68 |
| William Somerville | not out | 9 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 32.14 |
| Trent Boult | c Kusal Perera b Suranga Lakmal | 18 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 81.82 |
| Ajaz Patel | lbw b Suranga Lakmal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 249/10 (83.2 Overs, RR: 2.99) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-64 (26.3) Tom Latham, 2-64 (26.6) Kane Williamson, 3-71 (30.2) Jeet Raval, 4-171 (58.2) Henry Nicholls, 5-179 (60.2) BJ Watling, 6-205 (69.1) Ross Taylor, 7-216 (73.5) Mitchell Santner, 8-222 (74.6) Tim Southee, 9-249 (83.1) Trent Boult, 10-249 (83.2) Ajaz Patel, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suranga Lakmal | 15.2 | 5 | 29 | 4 | 1.91 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 10 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 3.70 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 30 | 3 | 80 | 5 | 2.67 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 6 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 3.33 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 22 | 1 | 81 | 0 | 3.68 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Thirimanne | st BJ Watling b Ajaz Patel | 10 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 27.78 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Ajaz Patel | 39 | 73 | 4 | 0 | 53.42 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Ross Taylor b Ajaz Patel | 53 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 59.55 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Ross Taylor b Ajaz Patel | 50 | 98 | 7 | 1 | 51.02 |
| Kusal Perera | c Mitchell Santner b Trent Boult | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c & b Ajaz Patel | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 26.32 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Kane Williamson b William Somerville | 61 | 109 | 3 | 0 | 55.96 |
| Akila Dananjaya | c Ross Taylor b William Somerville | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Suranga Lakmal | b Trent Boult | 40 | 98 | 3 | 2 | 40.82 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | lbw b William Somerville | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 29.41 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 267/10 (93.2 Overs, RR: 2.86) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-27 (10.6) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-66 (22.5) Dimuth Karunaratne, 3-143 (46.5) Kusal Mendis, 4-144 (47.3) Kusal Perera, 5-155 (52.2) Dhananjaya de Silva, 6-158 (54.1) Angelo Mathews, 7-161 (55.5) Akila Dananjaya, 8-242 (84.4) Suranga Lakmal, 9-262 (91.1) Niroshan Dickwella, 10-267 (93.2) Lasith Embuldeniya, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 20 | 4 | 45 | 2 | 2.25 | |
| Tim Southee | 7 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 2.43 | |
| William Somerville | 22.2 | 3 | 83 | 3 | 3.74 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 33 | 6 | 89 | 5 | 2.70 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 11 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 2.82 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeet Raval | c Dimuth Karunaratne b Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Tom Latham | c Lahiru Thirimanne b Akila Dananjaya | 45 | 81 | 2 | 1 | 55.56 |
| Kane Williamson | c Kusal Perera b Lasith Embuldeniya | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 16.00 |
| Ross Taylor | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Henry Nicholls | c Kusal Mendis b Dhananjaya de Silva | 26 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 36.62 |
| BJ Watling | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara | 77 | 173 | 6 | 0 | 44.51 |
| Mitchell Santner | c Suranga Lakmal b Lasith Embuldeniya | 12 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 34.29 |
| Tim Southee | st Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya | 23 | 62 | 1 | 0 | 37.10 |
| William Somerville | not out | 40 | 118 | 2 | 0 | 33.90 |
| Trent Boult | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lahiru Kumara | 26 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 104.00 |
| Ajaz Patel | lbw b Dhananjaya de Silva | 14 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 60.87 |
| Extras | 11 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 2, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 285/10 (106 Overs, RR: 2.69) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-8 (7.4) Jeet Raval, 2-20 (14.4) Kane Williamson, 3-25 (16.3) Ross Taylor, 4-81 (27.5) Tom Latham, 5-98 (39.2) Henry Nicholls, 6-124 (49.3) Mitchell Santner, 7-178 (69.5) Tim Southee, 8-224 (90.3) BJ Watling, 9-260 (98.2) Trent Boult, 10-285 (105.6) Ajaz Patel, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suranga Lakmal | 15 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 2.47 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 32 | 4 | 84 | 1 | 2.62 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 12 | 3 | 25 | 3 | 2.08 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 37 | 4 | 99 | 4 | 2.68 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 10 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 3.10 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c BJ Watling b Tim Southee | 122 | 243 | 6 | 1 | 50.21 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | lbw b William Somerville | 64 | 163 | 4 | 0 | 39.26 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Jeet Raval b Ajaz Patel | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 166.67 |
| Angelo Mathews | not out | 28 | 73 | 2 | 0 | 38.36 |
| Kusal Perera | c Mitchell Santner b Trent Boult | 23 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 121.05 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | not out | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Extras | 7 (b 6 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 268/4 (86.1 Overs, RR: 3.11) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-161 (60.2) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-174 (61.5) Kusal Mendis, 3-218 (76.1) Dimuth Karunaratne, 4-250 (82.2) Kusal Perera, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 9.1 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 3.74 | |
| Tim Southee | 12 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 2.75 | |
| William Somerville | 31 | 6 | 73 | 1 | 2.35 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 18 | 0 | 74 | 1 | 4.11 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 13 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 2.92 | |
| Kane Williamson | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 | |
