Black Caps staring down the barrel; Sri Lanka sniff whitewash
New Zealand is staring at a massive innings defeat in the second Test against Sri Lanka, having been reduced to 199 for 5 in the follow on, still needing 315 runs to avoid an innings loss on a rain curtailed third day at the Galle International Stadium yesterday. The match was called off with 10 overs remaining, allowing New Zealand to push the game to the fourth day.
Sri Lankan spinners, led by Prabath Jayasuriya, wreaked havoc alongside debutant Nishan Peiris, who helped bowl the visitors out for just 88 runs—New Zealand’s lowest score against Sri Lanka. This left them with a first innings deficit of 514 runs.
Prabath Jayasuriya, who claimed his ninth five-wicket haul, is applauded by debutant Nishan Peiris, who already has six Test scalps to his name - AFP
This follow on is the third largest in Test cricket history, following England’s 702-run follow on against Australia in 1938 and Pakistan’s 570-run follow on against New Zealand in 2002.
In the morning session, the left-arm and right-arm spin duo of Jayasuriya and Peiris put New Zealand in serious trouble, sharing nine wickets between them. Resuming at 22 for 2, New Zealand lost nine wickets during this session, with eight falling in the first innings and one in the second, after being forced to follow on.
Jayasuriya finished with impressive figures of 6 for 42, while Peiris took three wickets. Additionally, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva had a standout day, taking five catches.
New Zealand’s collapse began in the third over of the day with Kane Williamson, who added just one run to his overnight score before becoming one of Jayasuriya’s victims. Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell briefly added 17 runs for the fourth wicket before Ravindra fell to Peiris, marking the latter’s first Test wicket.
Wickets tumbled rapidly, and from 41 for 3, New Zealand lost six wickets for just 27 runs, slipping to 68 for 9. The last pair, Mitchell Santner and William O’Rourke, managed to add 20 runs before the team was bundled out for a meager 88.
In the follow on, New Zealand faced early trouble, losing Tom Latham on the last ball of Peiris’ first over, heading into lunch at 3 for 1.
After the break, Devon Conway and Williamson batted steadily, putting together a 50-run stand for the second wicket in 47 balls. Conway reached his half century off 48 balls, hitting eight boundaries and a six. However, he fell for 61, caught by substitute Ramesh Mendis off Dhananjaya de Silva, after sharing a valuable 97-run partnership with Williamson.
Williamson was dismissed shortly after, four runs shy of his half-century, contributing 46 runs before being caught at long off by Mendis. New Zealand quickly lost two more wickets for just 11 runs, ending the tea break at a precarious 129 for 5.
With their top order batsmen back in the pavilion, Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips provided stiff resistance in the post-tea session, bringing the team’s total to 150 runs and forming a crucial unbroken partnership of 78 runs for the sixth wicket before the match was called off.
Jayasuriya’s six wickets in the first innings marked his ninth five-wicket haul in 16 matches, adding to three four-wicket hauls, with his best bowling figures being 7 for 52 against Ireland.
As the fourth day approaches, New Zealand faces the daunting task of erasing 315 runs to avoid an innings defeat and prevent a series washout, having lost the first Test by 63 runs.
| SCORECARD | |
| Sri Lanka (1st innings) Pathum Nissanka c Blundell b Southee 01 Dimuth Karunaratne run out 46 Dinesh Chandimal b Phillips 116 Angelo Mathews c O’Rourke b Phillips 88 Kamindu Mendis not out 182 Dhananjaya de Silva c Blundell b Phillips 44 Kusal Mendis not out 106 Extras (b6, lb8, nb2, w3) 19 Total (5 wickets declared; 163.4 overs) 602 Did not bat: Nishan Peiris, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Nissanka, 0.6ov), 2-124 (Karunaratne, 39.1ov), 3-221 (Chandimal, 72.3ov), 4-328 (Mathews, 96.3ov), 5-402 (de Silva, 118.3ov) Bowling: Tim Southee 19-1-70-1, William O’Rourke 17-1-81-0, Ajaz Patel 41-5-135-0, Mitchell Santner 33-5-82-0, Glenn Phillips 38-4-141-3, Rachin Ravindra 12.4-0-54-0, Daryl Mitchell 3-0-25-0 New Zealand (1st innings – 22/2 O’night) Tom Latham c Nissanka b Fernando 02 Devon Conway c de Silva b Jayasuriya 09 Kane Williamson c de Silva b Jayasuriya 07 Ajaz Patel lbw b Peiris 08 Rachin Ravindra b Peiris 10 Daryl Mitchell c Mathews b Jayasuriya 13 Tom Blundell c de Silva b Jayasuriya 01 Glenn Phillips c de Silva b Jayasuriya 00 Mitchell Santner b Peiris 29 Tim Southee c de Silva b Jayasuriya 02 William O’Rourke not out 02 Extras (b5) 05 Total (all out; 39.5 overs) 88 Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Latham, 0.5ov), 2-19 (Conway, 8.2ov), 3-24 (Williamson, 16.6ov), 4-41 (Ravindra, 23.5ov), 5-52 (Patel, 25.2ov), 6-53 (Blundell, 26.1ov), 7-53 (Phillips, 26.3ov), 8-66 (Mitchell, 30.3ov), 9-68 (Southee, 32.3ov), 10-88 (Santner, 39.5ov) Bowling: Asitha Fernando 4-1-8-1, Nishan Peiris 17.5-3-33-3, Prabath Jayasuriya 18-6-42-6 New Zealand (2nd innings – follow on) Tom Latham c Nissanka b Peiris 00 Devon Conway c Chandimal b de Silva 61 Kane Williamson c R. Mendis c Peiris 46 Rachin Ravindra b Peiris 12 Daryl Mitchell c Nissanka b Jayasuriya 01 Tom Blundell not out 47 Glenn Phillips not out 32 Extras 00 Total (5 wickets; 41 overs) 199 Yet to bat: Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke Fall of wickets: 1-0 Latham (0.6ov), 2-97 Conway (18.6ov), 3-110 Williamson (22.2ov), 4-113 (Mitchell, 23.6ov), 5-121 (Ravindra, 26.6ov) Bowling: Nishan Peiris 17-1-91-3, Prabath Jayasuriya 17-1-76-1, Asitha Fernando 2-0-8-0, Milan Rathnayake 2-0-7-0, Dhananjaya de Silva 3-0-17-1 |