Half centuries by Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne helped Sri Lanka attain 305-6 and take the higher hand Thursday on the primary day of the primary Test in opposition to New Zealand.
Mendis made 87 and Sri Lanka captain Karunaratne 50 in a crucial partnership which helped tip the primary day in Sri Lanka’s favor.
At stumps and after solely 75 overs within the day, Dhananjaya De Silva was 39 not out, and Kasun Rajitha was 16, his highest Test rating.
Sri Lanka was despatched in after shedding what appeared an necessary toss. New Zealand captain Tim Southee stated the pitch at Hagley Oval had a “green tinge” and he was completely happy to take the brand new ball as a part of a Black Caps assault bolstered by a fourth seamer.
Sri Lanka misplaced an early wicket and had scored solely 27 runs on the finish of a watchful first hour. Mendis went on the assault within the second hour and reached his sixteenth half century from 40 balls which had Sri Lanka 120-1 at lunch and was spectacular within the situations.
The 137-run partnership between Mendis and Karunaratne lifted Sri Lanka to 151-2 earlier than each batters have been out at that rating as Southee and his new ball associate Matt Henry struck again for New Zealand.
The approach utilized by Mendis and Karunaratne within the situations was exemplary. Though the climate was overcast and heat when play started, and the pitch was inexperienced, there was little or no motion, even when the ball was new.
Southee and Henry needed to bowl straight and full to make the most of any swing, and the batters, through the use of their toes fastidiously and making their first step comparatively straight, they have been in a position to guard their stumps and tuck the bat inside the road if the ball moved late.
That, in flip, made the bowlers bowl straighter, and the Sri Lanka batters have been in a position to choose them off after they did. Mendis took a number of his runs behind sq..
Bounce wasn’t efficient; it was too low. That made flat bat photographs extra possible. The ball beat the bat often, however the batting facet bought on prime as New Zealand wasted its opinions on speculative appeals.
“It’s always a frustrating day when you beat the bat like that,” Henry stated. “I think from our point of view, we just have to be a bit better for longer.”
Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, slowly at first however with rising confidence, constructed a partnership which was value 58 runs at tea when Sri Lanka was 210-3. Chandimal, particularly, preferred to drive, and one by way of cowl was in all probability the perfect shot of the day.
Rain briefly delayed the return of gamers from the tea break however handed rapidly and the partnership was 82 when Chandimal was caught by Tom Latham from Southee. He was 39.
The wicket was Southee’s 362nd in Tests, taking him previous Daniel Vettori into second place on New Zealand’s all-time checklist of Test wicket-takers behind Richard Hadlee with 431. Southee additionally handed Vettori’s mark of 705 to turn out to be New Zealand’s main wicket-taker throughout all three codecs.
Mathews additionally reached an necessary milestone when, at 47, he handed 7,000 runs in Tests, achieved at a median of 45.
He was out at that rating, caught by Tom Latham at second slip off Henry and Niroshan Dickwell fall quickly after for 7, lbw to spinner Michael Bracewell.
The use of Bracewell partly was a necessity brought on by the ineffectiveness of New Zealand’s fourth and fifth seamers, Neil Wagner and Daryl Mitchell.
Wagner was the hero of New Zealand’s 1-run win over England within the second Test on the Basin Reserve two weeks in the past, claiming the final wicket of James Anderson. But he took a pounding Thursday, conceding 68 runs from 10 overs.
Source web site: sportstar.thehindu.com
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