GALLE: New Zealand continued to chip away at their target of 275, scoring 101 runs in the post-lunch session, but Sri Lanka grabbed three key wickets in the form of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham and Daryl Mitchell – to go with the one of Devon Conway prior to lunch – to keep the game finely poised as the sides headed to tea on day three in Galle.
Each of Sri Lanka’s three spin options employed got in on the act, highlighting the increasingly perilous nature of the surface.
At the crease were Rachin Ravindra and Tom Blundell, their stand still fledgling on 18 off 27, but on an increasingly difficult surface with puffs of dust growing in frequency, the remaining 161 runs required to win still might seem a fair bit away.
For the early part of the session though, it was New Zealand’s game plan that was in the ascendency. While the pair of Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis were consistent in their lines and length, both Latham and Williamson were keen to sweep and use their feet to ensure the spinners didn’t have it all their own way.
Williamson in particular was busy throughout, at times sliding deep into the crease and other times stepping out to get to the pitch of it. A lofted six over extra cover, with the spin, off Jayasuriya was a session highlight, one which was followed immediately by a sumptuous cover drive.
But it was the Sri Lankan left-arm fingerspinner that would have the last laugh, dragging one shorter having seen Williamson step out one time too many, and turning it past a panicked forward defence as Kusal Mendis whipped off the bails. Such was the turn, it left Williamson briefly confused and he gesticulated in frustration at the pitch and walked off.
That brought to an end a threatening 45-run stand between two players who had caused considerable damage in the first innings.
Latham was the next to go, trapped in front by a Dhananjaya de Silva arm ball, which brought Mitchell to the crease. Sri Lanka were undoubtedly keen to see the back of him before he could wreak any real damage, and they got their wish when one from Ramesh spat back in from outside off. Mitchell who had stepped back to cut, could only watch on as the ball spun into his back pad before clipping the top of leg.
Blundell and Rachin were looking positive in their brief stand before the break, but Sri Lanka have shown that a ball with your name on it is not far off. It’s just a question of whether New Zealand can win the race to knock off the remaining runs.
Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka lost six wickets for 72 runs as New Zealand wrapped up the Lankan second innings inside the morning session.
Ajaz Patel was undoubtedly the star of the session, grabbing five wickets in a little over an hour to finish with figures of 6 for 90. Will O’Rourke, who bowled a slightly off-colour spell with the second new ball, ended with figures of 3 for 49.
