After being promoted to No. 5, Kamindu Mendis continued his stellar form with a brilliant hundred, putting Sri Lanka in control on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand at Galle International Cricket Stadium.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva had no hesitation in choosing to bat first in very good batting conditions.
The hosts announced their playing XI yesterday, making a few changes from the 3rd England Test while also adjusting the batting order.
Milan Rathnayake, who impressed during his debut series in England, was unfortunately left out due to team balance, as off-spinning all-rounder Ramesh Mendis returned to the side.
Meanwhile, 23-year-old Will O’Rourke, who has played just two Tests so far, earned a spot in the New Zealand playing XI, with the experienced Matt Henry missing out.
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (wk), Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee (c), Ajaz Patel, Will O’Rourke.
Sri Lanka suffered early setbacks when O’Rourke sent both openers back to the pavilion within the first six overs. Karunaratne was caught behind, while Nissanka, after a quick start, was cleaned up by an inswinging yorker for 27 off 25.
At 33/2, Mathews joined Chandimal, who was promoted to No. 3. Together, they added 36 runs off 109 balls before Mathews was forced to retire hurt after being struck on the right index finger by O’Rourke in the 22nd over.
Chandimal looked solid but was dismissed by Southee for 30 immediately after the lunch break. Phillips then ripped through Sri Lanka’s captain in his first over, reducing the hosts to 106/4.
Mathews returned to the crease and, along with Kamindu, revived the innings. They formed a solid 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket before O’Rourke broke the stand, dismissing Mathews for a well-made 36 just before tea.
During the partnership, Kamindu surpassed the 50-run mark for the seventh consecutive time in Tests since his debut, becoming only the second batter to achieve this feat after Saud Shakeel.
After being reduced to 178/5, Kamindu shared another superb century stand with Kusal Mendis, making the bowlers toil hard. The left-hander continued his dream run, bringing up his fourth Test hundred.
Kusal played beautifully as well but departed soon after reaching his 19th fifty. He attempted a pull shot off Phillips, the ball popped up after hitting Latham at short-leg, and Southee held onto it at short mid-wicket.
With just four overs remaining, Sri Lanka were set for a strong finish on Day 1, but Ajaz Patel bowled a brilliant delivery to dismiss the centurion. Kamindu’s 114 came off 173 balls, featuring 11 fours.
The hosts ended the day at 302/7, with O’Rourke standing out on the bowling front for the visitors with figures of 3/54.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 302/7 (88) Kamindu Mendis 114, Kusal Mendis 50, Angelo Mathews 36, Will O’Rourke 3/54, Glenn Phillips 2/52, Tim Southee 1/48
Day 1 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 | |
