Latham, Williamson fifties extend New Zealand’s advantage
New Zealand 255 for 4 (Latham 70, Williamson 55, Dhananjaya 2-31) trail Sri Lanka 305 (Kamindu 114, Kusal 50, O’Rourke 5-55) by 50 runs
Partnerships were the name of the game as New Zealand strung together several of significance to come within 50 runs of Sri Lanka’s first-innings total of 305 at stumps on day two in Galle.
There were breezy fifties from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, and Rachin Ravindra also put forward an aggressive cameo. By the time an extended final session ended 15 minutes early due to bad light, there were more names on that list, as Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell had put together an unbeaten stand of 59 off 105. Theirs was the fourth 50-plus stand of the innings on a day that belonged almost in totality to the visitors.
All this happened despite a rain-curtailed morning session during which only 15 minutes of play were possible. But that was all it took for New Zealand to pick up the remaining three Sri Lanka wickets.
Sri Lanka’s best moments of the day were just that – moments – as their bowlers struggled to put together any periods of concerted pressure. Despite the surface offering turn, none of the four spinners used by the hosts were able to find consistent lines and lengths – either due to the strong breeze across the stadium or the New Zealand batters’ proactiveness in using their feet as well as a variety of sweeps.
The hosts were also unable to build on any of the wickets to fall, with each new batter settling in quickly. Only a burst from Dhananjaya de Silva, when he dismissed Williamson and Ravindra in the space of two overs, offered a glimmer of Sri Lankan dominance, but that hope was snuffed out quickly by Mitchell and Blundell.
The rest of the spinners’ figures told a story. Prabath Jayasuriya toiled for 31 overs for figures of 99 for 1, easily his worst in Galle thus far, while Ramesh Mendis’ 17 overs went for 69 and brought a solitary scalp. Kamindu Mendis was used only for one over that went for eight.
Earlier in the day, it was Latham and Williamson who proved to be Sri Lanka’s tormentors. Latham, in particular, provided the blueprint during his 111-ball 70, both with his footwork and, more potently, prolific use of the sweep and reverse sweep.
While Devon Conway never really looked anywhere close to his flowing best, laboring his way to 17 off 59 deliveries, Latham was more than making up for it at the other end. This ensured a solid opening stand of 63, one brought to an end against the run of play – and upon review – with Conway missing one from Ramesh Mendis that straightened after pitching.
Instead of bringing Sri Lanka back into proceedings, the wicket only hastened New Zealand’s advancement as Williamson easily matched Latham’s urgency. Within his first 14 deliveries, the former captain had cut, pulled and lofted two boundaries and a six, and while that rate of scoring was never going to be maintained, the Sri Lanka spinners’ wayward lines allied with expert maneuvering from both Williamson and Latham meant dot balls were rarely strung together.
Daryl Mitchell attempts a reverse sweep, Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Galle, 2nd day, September 19, 2024
Daryl Mitchell attempts a reverse sweep, a shot New Zealand’s batters used quite often against spin•Associated Press
That Sri Lanka eventually broke the 73-run stand, which took only 120 balls, was down to the batter’s error more than the bowlers’ effectiveness, as Latham’s most potent weapon – the sweep – became his undoing, when he top-edged to backward square leg off Jayasuriya at the stroke of tea.
There was no respite for Sri Lanka in the final session either, as Ravindra managed to further up the ante over the course of a 48-ball 39. His expert use of the depth of the crease also meant any error in length was punished square of the wicket on either side.
The Williamson-Ravindra stand of 51 took just 84 deliveries, and were it not for a piece of brilliance from wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis – leaping forward past the stumps to hold on to a leading edge of Williamson – it was hard to see where a breakthrough might have come from. Ravindra himself fell shortly after, leaving an arm ball that clattered into his off stump and punching his bat in disgust on the way back to the dressing room. But Sri Lanka’s joy was short-lived as Mitchell and Blundell negotiated safely whatever was thrown at them, including a period of short-ball barrages from Asitha Fernando.
During the heavily rain-affected morning session, William O’Rourke starred once more, adding two further wickets to his overnight tally, to end with figures of 5 for 55 as Sri Lanka were bowled out adding just three runs to their overnight total.
Sri Lanka 1st Innings
Batting R B M 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka
b O’Rourke
27 25 31 5 0 108.00
Dimuth Karunaratne
c †Blundell b O’Rourke
2 8 21 0 0 25.00
Dinesh Chandimal
c sub (MG Bracewell) b Southee
30 71 107 3 0 42.25
Angelo Mathews
c †Blundell b O’Rourke
36 116 160 3 0 31.03
Kamindu Mendis
c Mitchell b Patel
114 173 273 11 0 65.89
Dhananjaya de Silva (c)
b Phillips
11 24 27 2 0 45.83
Kusal Mendis †
c Southee b Phillips
50 68 103 7 0 73.52
Ramesh Mendis
lbw b O’Rourke
14 49 60 2 0 28.57
Prabath Jayasuriya
lbw b Patel
0 15 19 0 0 0.00
Lahiru Kumara
not out 2 2 7 0 0 100.00
Asitha Fernando
b O’Rourke
0 4 5 0 0 0.00
Extras (b 12, lb 2, nb 4, w 1) 19
TOTAL
91.5 Ov
(RR: 3.32, 404 Mins)
305
Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Dimuth Karunaratne, 3.6 ov), 2-33 (Pathum Nissanka, 5.6 ov), 2-69* (Angelo Mathews, retired not out), 3-88 (Dinesh Chandimal, 28.4 ov), 4-106 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 34.2 ov), 5-178 (Angelo Mathews, 55.3 ov), 6-281 (Kusal Mendis, 78.2 ov), 7-302 (Kamindu Mendis, 86.1 ov), 8-303 (Prabath Jayasuriya, 90.4 ov), 9-305 (Ramesh Mendis, 91.1 ov), 10-305 (Asitha Fernando, 91.5 ov) •
DRS
Bowling O M R W ECON WD NB
Tim Southee
14 2 48
1
3.42 0 0
William O’Rourke
18.5 4 55
5
2.92 1 4
Ajaz Patel
20 4 60
2
3.00 0 0
Mitchell Santner
19 2 64 0 3.36 0 0
Glenn Phillips
18 0 52
2
2.88 0 0
Rachin Ravindra
2 0 12 0 6.00 0 0
New Zealand 1st Innings
Batting R B 4s 6s SR
Tom Latham
c sub (S Samarawickrama) b Jayasuriya
70 111 6 0 63.06
Devon Conway
lbw b RTM Mendis
17 59 1 0 28.81
Kane Williamson
c †BKG Mendis b de Silva
55 104 4 1 52.88
Rachin Ravindra
b de Silva
39 48 4 0 81.25
Daryl Mitchell
not out 41 60 5 1 68.33
Tom Blundell †
not out 18 52 1 0 34.61
Extras (b 8, lb 3, nb 2, w 2) 15
TOTAL
72 Ov
(RR: 3.54)
255/4
Yet to bat:
Glenn Phillips,
Mitchell Santner,
Tim Southee (c),
Ajaz Patel,
William O’Rourke
Fall of wickets: 1-63 (Devon Conway, 18.4 ov), 2-136 (Tom Latham, 38.4 ov), 3-187 (Kane Williamson, 52.4 ov), 4-196 (Rachin Ravindra, 54.5 ov) •
DRS
Bowling O M R W ECON WD NB
Asitha Fernando
7 1 25 0 3.57 2 1
Lahiru Kumara
9 4 12 0 1.33 0 0
Dhananjaya de Silva
7 0 31
2
4.42 0 0
Ramesh Mendis
17 1 69
1
4.05 0 1
Prabath Jayasuriya
31 3 99
1
3.19 0 0
Kamindu Mendis
1 0 8 0 8.00 0 0
Close Of Play
day 1 – Sri Lanka 1st innings 302/7 (Ramesh Mendis 14*, Prabath Jayasuriya 0*, 88 ov)
day 2 – New Zealand 1st innings 255/4 (Daryl Mitchell 41*, Tom Blundell 18*, 72 ov)
