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Day 2 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch: Sri Lanka 355 in 92.4 overs (Kusal Mendis 87, Dimuth Karunaratne 50, Angelo Mathews 47; Tim Southee 5-64, Matt Henry 4-80) met New Zealand 162-5 in 63 overs (Tom Latham 67, Daryl Mitchell 40no; Lahiru Kumara 2-34, Asitha Fernando 2-42)
Sri Lanka have put themselves in a wonderful position for their first away test win over New Zealand in 17 years.
For the second straight day it was advantage Sri Lanka, who nabbed three wickets for nine runs on Friday at Hagley Oval and reduced New Zealand to 162-5 at stumps.
New Zealand trail by 193 runs on the first innings and have a mountain of work to do with the bat on Saturday to fight their way back into the match. Daryl Mitchell was unbeaten at the close of play on 40 with the in-form Tom Blundell falling 20 minutes before stumps for seven.
After New Zealand slumped to 76-3, Sri Lanka put an exclamation point on a successful day, taking the big wicket of Tom Latham for 67, who fell to a yorker from Asitha Fernando.
Sri Lanka were delighted to see the back of Latham, who has feasted against them – scoring a test-best 264 not out at the Basin Reserve in December 2018. Latham also struck 176 against them at Hagley during that same series.
It was Sri Lanka’s day again after making a positive start on Thursday – fuelling hope of a third away test win over New Zealand with the last coming in December 2006.
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New Zealand opener Tom Latham looks dejected after falling for 67 against Sri Lanka.
More importantly, an upset away win would keep alive their outside shot of making the World Test Championship final in June.
After Latham and Devon Conway safely negotiated the new ball and added 67 for the opening wicket, New Zealand crumbled, losing three wickets for nine runs.
The excitement levels and noise among the Sri Lankan fielders ramped up with each wicket, making major inroads into New Zealand’s top order.
It was nearly four quick wickets with Mitchell surviving a huge lbw shout when he was on one from Kasun Rajitha’s bowling.
Joe Allison/Getty Images
Kane Williamson walks off the field after being dismissed by Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara on Friday.
Henry Nicholls’ miserable run with the bat continued, falling meekly for two to leave New Zealand in trouble at 76-3.
Nicholls has scored just 230 runs from his last 14 innings at 16.4, not scoring a half-century since February 2022. He will be fighting for his test future in the second innings and second test, if persisted with.
Down on confidence, Nicholls tried to play positively, attempting to pull, but was undone by the extra bounce, skying it up in the air.
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Sri Lanka’s Kasun Rajitha celebrates with his team after taking a catch to dismiss Henry Nicholls.
New Zealand’s promising 67-run opening stand ended when Conway was struck in front by Fernando. He was given out on-field by umpire Chris Gaffaney with Conway reviewing the call.
Conway was somewhat unlucky with it looking like it might have struck him outside the line. It was a tight call, but he had to go with DRS showing umpire’s call on impact and projection on where it would hit.
Sri Lanka were jubilant when they had a second just before tea, snaring the wicket of Kane Williamson for one.
Captain Dimuth Karunaratne brought Lahiru Kumara back into the attack and it paid immediate rewards. Kumara troubled Williamson throughout the over and set him up with his last delivery, producing a loose shot to Karunaratne at short cover.
Sri Lanka began the day at 305-6, adding 50 runs to their overnight tally.
Not known for their batting exploits, their last four men Rajitha (22) Prabath Jayasuriya (13) Kumara (13no) and Fernando (10) all achieved their highest test scores.
Tim Southee, who moved to second outright on New Zealand’s test wicket taking list on Thursday, surpassing Daniel Vettori, took his 15th five wicket bag, finishing with 5-64. Southee has 364 test wickets from 93 matches – 67 behind Sir Richard Hadlee’s record mark of 431.
The big moment
After losing three wickets for nine runs, Latham and Mitchell were starting to rebuild, teaming up for a 58-run stand. Sri Lanka produced the key breakthrough an hour before stumps with Fernando striking. He knocked over Latham, who had looked assured at the crease until then.
Best with bat
Latham was the standout New Zealand batter on an afternoon where some of his team-mates would have been annoyed with how they got out. The left-hander, who has a fine test record at Hagley was impressive in getting to 67, but fell at a crucial stage – which could end up being a match-turning moment.
Best with ball
Take your pick from the Sri Lankan seamers. Fernando and Kumara both led the way with two wickets and set the tone for their side. They put the ball in menacing areas, asked questions from the batters, and ran in with intensity.
The big picture
Sri Lanka are right where they want to be after losing the toss on day one and being sent in. They’ve enjoyed the better of both days and are firmly in the hunt for just their third test win in New Zealand. The Black Caps have plenty to do with the bat on Saturday to avoid a sizeable first innings’ deficit.
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