Ravindra wages lone battle with Sri Lanka two wickets away from victory
New Zealand are still 68 runs away from their target of 275
New Zealand 340 and 207 for 8 (Ravindra 91*, Jayasuriya 3-66, Ramesh Mendis 3-83) need another 68 runs to beat Sri Lanka 305 and 309 (Karunaratne 83, Chandimal 61, Ajaz 6-90)
Rachin Ravindra led New Zealand’s charge as they scored 194 runs in the final two sessions of day four in pursuit of their target of 275, but a fast-deteriorating Galle surface and relentless pressure from Sri Lanka’s spinners meant they have only two wickets in hand to notch the remaining 68 runs.
At stumps, Ravindra was unbeaten on 91, but he was fast running out of company; Ajaz Patel just about managed to survive through to stumps. New Zealand will, no doubt, fancy their chances of completing this chase, but it will not be easy when the nature of the surface is taken into account.
This was a day, therefore, that belonged to the spinners, starting with Ajaz’s five wickets in the morning session – he finished with 6 for 90 – and ending with Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis grabbing three apiece. In all, 14 wickets fell in the day, 13 of them to spin.
But on a day when the pendulum got a solid workout, it was Sri Lanka who found themselves in the ascendancy at the close. That was largely down to a final session in which they grabbed four wickets.
However, it had not exactly started that way, as New Zealand came out following the tea interval with renewed intent. Sri Lanka started the session with the pace of Lahiru Kumara from one end, but that was a short-lived ploy after Ravindra and Tom Blundell plundered his shortish lengths for 14 in an over. That ushered in a period of quick runs with Ramesh targeted for a pair of boundaries two overs later.
Ramesh Mendis dismissed Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee in quick succession, Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 1st Test, 4th day, Galle, September 22, 2024
Ramesh Mendis dismissed Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee in quick succession•AFP/Getty Images
Before long, Ravindra and Blundell had added 56. At that point, New Zealand needed only 123 more with six wickets in hand. But on this surface, one was never truly in and so it proved when Blundell opted for a reverse sweep only to be bowled around his legs.
Glenn Phillips was the new man in. Given his blistering 49 not out amid a lower-order collapse in the first innings, his wicket was always bound to be crucial. As it turned out, Phillips didn’t bother the scorers all that much, edging to second slip for 4 while attempting a forward defence.
Mitchell Santner batted time in order to support Ravindra’s solo offensive at the other end, but he ran out of patience and drove a tossed-up delivery straight into the hands of short cover.
Into the tail proper, Sri Lanka needed little time to dismiss Tim Southee, who struggled to come to terms with the spin being extracted outside his off stump by Ramesh. After several close calls, one hit him on the back leg in front of middle and leg. The appeal was huge, but the umpire did not move. But Ramesh was able to convince his skipper to go upstairs, and New Zealand lost their eighth.
The game had undergone a similar up-and-down trajectory earlier in the day as well. Play had begun with Sri Lanka losing six wickets for 72 runs as their second innings was wrapped up inside the morning session. Ajaz took five of those in a little over an hour and Will O’Rourke, who bowled a slightly off-colour spell with the second new ball, ended with 3 for 49.
Sri Lanka, though, would finish the session with the wicket of Devon Conway, who chopped a sharp in-seamer from Asitha Fernando. But the post-lunch session once again began with the visitors fighting back.
While Jayasuriya and Ramesh were consistent with their line and length, Tom Latham and Kane 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 the ball. A lofted six over extra cover, with the spin, against Jayasuriya was a session highlight. Just before that, he had hit a sumptuous cover drive.
But Jayasuriya had 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 gesticulating in frustration at the pitch as he walked off.
That ended a threatening 45-run stand between two players who had caused considerable damage in the first innings.
Before the session was over, Sri Lanka also had the wickets of Latham and the dangerous Daryl Mitchell in the bag, the former done in by Dhananjaya de Silva’s an arm ball and the latter by one that spun back prodigiously from Mendis.
But then New Zealand, led by Ravindra and Blundell, fought back once more before the spinners hurt them once again.
Ajaz ‘grateful’ for ‘world class’ Ravindra keeping New Zealand in the contest
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Ajaz ‘grateful’ for ‘world class’ Ravindra keeping New Zealand in the contest
Asia specialist Ajaz Patel says limited opportunities have made him hungrier
The left-arm spinner picked up 6 for 90 in the third innings of the Galle Test, his second five-wicket haul in Sri Lanka
Asia specialist Ajaz Patel says limited opportunities have made him hungrier
Ravindra wages lone battle with Sri Lanka two wickets away from victory
New Zealand are still 68 runs away from their target of 275
Ravindra wages lone battle with Sri Lanka two wickets away from victory
Phillips: ‘I love my bowling much more than my batting’
He has bowled 30 over in the Test so far and picked up two wickets
Phillips: ‘I love my bowling much more than my batting’
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Phillips: ‘SL is a tough place to come and win’
New Zealand Innings
ICC World Test Championship
Team M W L D PT PCT
IND
10 7 2 1 86 71.67
AUS
12 8 3 1 90 62.50
NZ
6 3 3 0 36 50.00
SL
7 3 4 0 36 42.86
ENG
16 8 7 1 81 42.19
BAN
7 3 4 0 33 39.29
SA
6 2 3 1 28 38.89
PAK
7 2 5 0 16 19.05
WI
9 1 6 2 20 18.52
FU
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 M 4s 6s SR
Tom Latham
c sub (S Samarawickrama) b Jayasuriya
70 111 151 6 0 63.06
Devon Conway
lbw b RTM Mendis
17 59 67 1 0 28.81
Kane Williamson
c †BKG Mendis b de Silva
55 104 136 4 1 52.88
Rachin Ravindra
b de Silva
39 48 62 4 0 81.25
Daryl Mitchell
run out (RTM Mendis/†BKG Mendis)
57 86 118 7 1 66.27
Tom Blundell †
c de Silva b Jayasuriya
25 65 86 1 1 38.46
Glenn Phillips
not out 49 48 65 2 5 102.08
Mitchell Santner
c †BKG Mendis b Jayasuriya
2 2 1 0 0 100.00
Tim Southee (c)
b Jayasuriya
3 10 7 0 0 30.00
Ajaz Patel
lbw b RTM Mendis
6 6 6 1 0 100.00
William O’Rourke
b RTM Mendis
2 8 23 0 0 25.00
Extras (b 8, lb 3, nb 2, w 2) 15
TOTAL
90.5 Ov
(RR: 3.74)
340
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), 5-269 (Tom Blundell, 75.6 ov), 6-291 (Daryl Mitchell, 81.3 ov), 7-293 (Mitchell Santner, 81.5 ov), 8-297 (Tim Southee, 83.5 ov), 9-304 (Ajaz Patel, 84.6 ov), 10-340 (William O’Rourke, 90.5 ov) •
DRS
Bowling O M R W ECON WD NB
Asitha Fernando
7 1 25 0 3.57 2 1
Lahiru Kumara
12 5 28 0 2.33 0 0
Dhananjaya de Silva
7 0 31
2
4.42 0 0
Ramesh Mendis
23.5 1 101
3
4.23 0 1
Prabath Jayasuriya
40 5 136
4
3.40 0 0
Kamindu Mendis
1 0 8 0 8.00 0 0
Sri Lanka 2nd Innings
Batting R B M 4s 6s SR
Pathum Nissanka
c Southee b O’Rourke
2 10 12 0 0 20.00
Dimuth Karunaratne
b Patel
83 127 201 6 0 65.35
Dinesh Chandimal
c Latham b O’Rourke
61 150 197 6 0 40.66
Angelo Mathews
c Mitchell b Patel
50 111 180 5 0 45.04
Kamindu Mendis
c Mitchell b O’Rourke
13 12 24 3 0 108.33
Dhananjaya de Silva (c)
st †Blundell b Patel
40 77 99 4 0 51.94
Kusal Mendis †
b Patel
23 30 32 3 0 76.66
Ramesh Mendis
lbw b Patel
1 18 37 0 0 5.55
Prabath Jayasuriya
c O’Rourke b Santner
11 24 32 2 0 45.83
Lahiru Kumara
c Williamson b Patel
0 4 3 0 0 0.00
Asitha Fernando
not out 0 7 13 0 0 0.00
Extras (b 11, lb 8, nb 4, w 2) 25
TOTAL
94.2 Ov
(RR: 3.27, 417 Mins)
309
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), 5-250 (Dhananjaya de Silva, 75.4 ov), 6-286 (Kusal Mendis, 83.4 ov), 7-292 (Angelo Mathews, 87.3 ov), 8-301 (Ramesh Mendis, 91.1 ov), 9-301 (Lahiru Kumara, 91.5 ov), 10-309 (Prabath Jayasuriya, 94.2 ov) •
DRS
Bowling O M R W ECON WD NB
William O’Rourke
17 2 49
3
2.88 2 3
Ajaz Patel
30 8 90
6
3.00 0 0
Mitchell Santner
14.2 2 51
1
3.55 0 0
Tim Southee
16 4 39 0 2.43 0 0
Glenn Phillips
12 1 50 0 4.16 0 0
Rachin Ravindra
5 0 11 0 2.20 0 1
New Zealand 2nd Innings (T: 275 Runs)
Batting R B M 4s 6s SR
Tom Latham
lbw b de Silva
28 68 86 2 0 41.17
Devon Conway
b Fernando
4 7 6 0 0 57.14
Kane Williamson
st †BKG Mendis b Jayasuriya
30 46 54 3 1 65.21
Rachin Ravindra
not out 91 158 – 9 1 57.59
Daryl Mitchell
b RTM Mendis
8 26 32 1 0 30.76
Tom Blundell †
b Jayasuriya
30 43 50 4 0 69.76
Glenn Phillips
c PHKD Mendis b Jayasuriya
4 14 11 0 0 28.57
Mitchell Santner
c Nissanka b RTM Mendis
2 22 31 0 0 9.09
Tim Southee (c)
lbw b RTM Mendis
2 9 9 0 0 22.22
Ajaz Patel
not out 0 15 – 0 0 0.00
Extras (b 6, lb 2) 8
TOTAL
68 Ov
(RR: 3.04)
207/8
Yet to bat:
William O’Rourke
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Devon Conway, 1.4 ov), 2-51 (Kane Williamson, 16.2 ov), 3-68 (Tom Latham, 22.5 ov), 4-96 (Daryl Mitchell, 32.3 ov), 5-152 (Tom Blundell, 46.1 ov), 6-171 (Glenn Phillips, 51.5 ov), 7-197 (Mitchell Santner, 61.2 ov), 8-203 (Tim Southee, 63.3 ov) •
DRS
Bowling O M R W ECON WD NB
Ramesh Mendis
25 3 83
3
3.32 0 0
Asitha Fernando
2 0 5
1
2.50 0 0
Prabath Jayasuriya
29 7 66
3
2.27 0 0
Dhananjaya de Silva
10 4 30
1
3.00 0 0
Lahiru Kumara
2 0 15 0 7.50 0 0
dra 91*, Ajaz