Half centuries by Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne helped Sri Lanka attain 305-6 and take the higher hand on Thursday (March 9) on the primary day of the primary Test towards New Zealand. Mendis made 87 and Sri Lanka captain Karunaratne 50 in a important partnership which helped tip the primary day in Sri Lanka’s favour.
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 vital toss. New Zealand captain Tim Southee stated the pitch at Hagley Oval had a “green tinge” and he was pleased 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 batsmen have been out at that rating as Southee and his new ball companion 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 had to bowl straight and full to reap the benefits of any swing and the batsmen, by utilizing their ft rigorously and making their first step comparatively straight, they have been ready 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 batsmen have been ready to choose them off once they did. Mendis took numerous his runs behind sq.. Bounce wasn’t efficient, it was too low and that made flat bat photographs extra possible. The ball beat the bat often however the batting facet acquired on high as New Zealand wasted its evaluations 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.”
Bad gentle forces early stumps on day 01. Sri Lanka on 305/6.
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— Sri Lanka Cricket __ (@OfficialSLC) March 9, 2023
Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, slowly at first however with rising confidence, constructed a partnership which was price 58 runs at tea when Sri Lanka was 210-3. Chandimal particularly preferred to drive and one by means 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 shortly 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 check wicket-takers behind Richard Hadlee with 431. Southee additionally handed Vettori’s mark of 705 to develop into New Zealand’s main wicket-taker throughout all three codecs.
Mathews additionally reached an vital milestone when, at 47, he handed 7,000 runs in Tests, achieved at a mean 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 attributable to 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 check 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.
