Sri Lanka lead by 202 in first New Zealand Test

GALLE: Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne forged a 147-run partnership to propel hosts Sri Lanka to a lead of 202 on day three of the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.

Sri Lanka were 237-4 at stumps in Galle with Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva, both on 34, to resume in the morning. Karunaratne (83) was on song, punishing loose deliveries and forcing New Zealand to spread the field to protect the boundaries. Chandimal (61) was more conservative.

“When you play in Galle there is a way I play, and I back that style,” Karunaratne said. “Rather than trying to defend, the best way forward is sweeps and reverse sweeps on that wicket,” he added.

“The fourth innings, 300 or 350 is a tough target. That´s what we want to get to feel safe.” Ajaz Patel broke the deadlock after tea with a ball that spun sharply from outside the rough, catching off-guard the left-handed Karunaratne when the ball snuck past his attempted sweep.

Chandimal was sent back in the next over by rookie William O´Rourke, who tempted him into a flick that went straight into the hands of Tom Latham at leg gully. The 23-year-old O´Rourke had started strong by dismissing Pathum Nissanka in his second over when the batsman edged a bouncer to a diving Tim Southee at second slip.

His third wicket of the day came courtesy of Kamindu Mendis, who made a century in the first innings but could only manage 13 in the second. O´Rourke had already impressed for the Kiwis with his second five-wicket haul from just three Test appearances during the first innings.

New Zealand resumed on 255-4 but lost their remaining wickets quickly despite a fightback from wicketkeeper Glenn Phillips, who made 49 off 50 balls. “It is a very good Test wicket. There is lot of assistance for spinners, and seamers can come into play as well,” Phillips said.

“We would have liked a bit more but a 30 or 40 run lead is always handy.” It was the first time the Kiwis had managed to post a score above 300 in Galle, where they have lost all four of their previous Test encounters.

Sri Lanka drew first blood in the morning when Tom Blundell was given out caught after a review, ending a solid 73-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Daryl Mitchell. Mitchell went on to post the third half-century of the innings for New Zealand after staring down the spinners. He was eventually run out on 57 when he responded to a risky call by Phillips, who miscalculated a single following a soft push to the covers.

Sri Lanka won the toss

Sri Lanka 1st Innings 305

New Zealand 1st Innings 340

Sri Lanka 2nd Innings

Nissanka c Southee b Rourke 2

Karunaratne b Patel 83

Chandimal c Latham b O’Rourke 61

Mathews not out 34

Mendis c Mitchell b O’Rourke 13

De Silva (c) not out 34

Extras: (b 1, lb 4, nb 3, w 2) 10

Total: 72 Ov (RR: 3.29) 237/4

Yet to bat: Kusal Mendis, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara

Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Pathum Nissanka, 2.5 ov), 2-153 (Dimuth Karunaratne, 47.1 ov), 3-153 (Dinesh Chandimal, 48.2 ov), 4-178 (Kamindu Mendis, 52.3 ov)

Bowling: William Rourke 12-2-37-3, Ajaz Patel 19-3-68-1, Mitchell Santner 14-2-51-0, Tim Southee 10-3-15-0, Glenn Phillips 12-1-50-0, Rachin Ravindra 5-0-11-0

Umpires: Ahsan Raza, Michael Gough