New Zealand vs Sri Lanka second day Summary

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka

New Zealand vs Sri Lanka second day Summary After William O’Rourke’s five-wicket haul held Sri Lanka to 305 during the morning session, half-centuries from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson helped New Zealand narrow the gap to under 50 runs by the end of Day 2 in Galle. Despite Sri Lanka dismissing both key players, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell’s contributions kept the visitors on track.

In a rain-interrupted morning, Sri Lanka added only three runs to their overnight score of 302/7 as Ajaz Patel and O’Rourke cleaned up the tail. However, the session saw minimal play due to frequent stoppages. Following an early Lunch, New Zealand laid a solid foundation through consecutive partnerships, beginning with a 63-run stand between Latham and Devon Conway.

Latham started positively with two boundaries off Asitha Fernando in one over, but the opening pair largely played cautiously as Dhananjaya de Silva rotated his bowling options, including himself. Ramesh Mendis provided the breakthrough, trapping Conway lbw after Sri Lanka successfully reviewed the decision.

For the remainder of the session, Latham and Williamson pushed New Zealand forward. After the drinks break, Williamson attacked Mendis, hitting him for a six over long-on followed by a four off a short ball. This forced the spinner to adjust his line and length, but Sri Lanka’s breakthrough came just before Tea. Prabath Jayasuriya dismissed Latham, who top-edged a sweep, and Sadeera Samarawickrama took a sharp catch at backward short leg, ending a 73-run partnership.

After the Tea break, Williamson was joined by the aggressive Ravindra, maintaining the left-right combination. Ravindra had a shaky start but soon settled, playing a quick-fire cameo of 39 off 48 balls. In the meantime, Williamson reached his 35th Test fifty, but Dhananjaya’s clever bowling soon undid him. Using the rough outside the leg stump, Dhananjaya lured Williamson into a flick, with Kusal Mendis taking a superb diving catch off the edge. Ravindra followed soon after, falling to the Sri Lankan captain in quick succession. New Zealand then steadied with a fifth-wicket partnership.

Daryl Mitchell attacked Dhananjaya with a boundary and a six, scoring at a lively pace, while Tom Blundell played a more cautious role. Sri Lanka’s efforts to break the stand before stumps were unsuccessful, with Mitchell and Blundell adding an unbeaten 59-run partnership to leave New Zealand in a strong position by the close.

Brief scores: New Zealand 255/4 (Tom Latham 70, Kane Williamson 55; Dhananjaya de Silva 2-31) trail Sri Lanka 305 (Kamindu Mendis 114, Kusal Mendis 50; William O’Rourke 5-55, Glenn Phillips 2-52, Ajaz Patel 2-60) by 50 runs.