New Zealand replied to Sri Lanka’s first innings complete of 355 on the second day of the primary cricket Test on Friday, using on a half-century from Tom Latham.
New Zealand had been 162-5 at stumps, 193 behind with the 2 all-rounders nonetheless on the crease. Daryl Mitchell was 40 and batted for over two hours and Michael Bracewell was 9.
The Sri Lankan bowlers took benefit of a very good effort from their batsmen to place the vacationers in a robust place on the finish of the second day. The bowlers had been capable of do way more with the ball on Friday than the New Zealanders had been capable of do on the primary day and even after successful the toss.
The ball seamed all through the day and the batting was by no means straightforward for the New Zealanders, who relied closely on the innings of Latham and Mitchell.
Daryl Mitchell (40*) and Michael Bracewell (9*) see the group stumped on the Hagley Oval. The guests strengthened with the late ball on Day 2. Catch up on the rating | https://t.co/D93Eu9xIFK #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/EZ3KwPZj2V
— BlackCaps (@BlackCaps) March 10, 2023
Latham mentioned, ‘It was very intriguing all through the innings.’ “With the brand new ball it was most likely a little bit simpler.
“I feel as soon as the ball obtained a bit outdated, the wicket most likely obtained a bit firmer and perhaps obtained a bit faster. The ball was seaming at a very good tempo. He clearly bowls very nicely and does not give us a lot to hit whether or not it’s off the entrance foot or again foot.
Good afternoon Hagley! @tomalthum2 Starts the innings with a pleasant clip for boundaries at his residence floor. Follow Play Live in NZ with @sparknzsport and Supreme TV in Sri Lanka. #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/Q7g47wkqCS
— BlackCaps (@BlackCaps) March 9, 2023
Sri Lanka’s rating was 305-6 after a very good efficiency on the primary day, answering the problem of batting first after shedding the toss. The vacationers added 50 runs for his or her final 4 wickets, in a becoming comeback as New Zealand took the second new ball 5 overs after the beginning of play.
New Zealand’s new ball pair of Tim Southee and Matt Henry shared the final 4 wickets. Southee completed with 5–64, his fifteenth five-wicket haul in Tests, and Henry took 4–80.
Test five-wicket bag quantity 15 for Tim Southee. He leads the group to applause from the gamers and crowd at Hagley Oval 🏏 #NZvSL pic.twitter.com/LUfHC8rGv0
— BlackCaps (@BlackCaps) March 9, 2023
New Zealand walked out to bat about half-hour earlier than the lunch break and the situations couldn’t have requested for higher. The pitch did not present a lot in the course of the first innings and with Hagley Park bathed in brilliant sunshine, the viewing situations had been excellent.
But the Sri Lankan pacers discovered a extra testing size than the New Zealanders and introduced the ball again shortly from each left and proper arms – a bounce simply in need of a size was sudden.
Latham and Devon Conway placed on 67 runs for the primary wicket however struggled in opposition to the accuracy and tenacity of the Sri Lankan bowlers.
After just a few close to misses, Conway was trapped leg earlier than on 30 by Asita Fernando. The umpire’s name was out, Conway reviewed and replays confirmed that the ball was hitting the highest of the off stump.
With the lack of Conway, New Zealand fell to 76–3.
Kane Williamson, who scored a century in his final innings, tried to drive one by way of the covers from Lahiru Kumara however the ball didn’t come as anticipated, he mistimed the shot and handed the ball straight to Dimuth Karunaratne .
Henry Nicholls got here and went shortly. He tried to tug one from Kumara, misjudged the bounce and was caught by Kasun Rajitha at brief mid-wicket.
Latham continued to anchor the innings as he introduced up his half-century off 122 balls. This was his twenty seventh half-century in Tests and eleventh in New Zealand.
Latham then stitched a partnership with Daryl Mitchell, including 58 runs for the fourth wicket, however was made tough by the Sri Lankan bowlers, who continued to search out the Test line and proceed to bang the bat.
Just because the companions seemed to be set, Asitha introduced out the ball of the day, a strong yorker that burst by way of Latham’s flick shot and clipped his toes earlier than the stumps. He was 67 and New Zealand had been 134-4.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
