Tim Southee rattled Sri Lanka with two wickets off three balls to put New Zealand in command on the second day of the second and final Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday.
The fast bowler removed opener Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara in his second over, before Sri Lanka struggled to reach 43-3 in their first innings at stumps in reply to New Zealand’s 412.
Southee, who also grabbed four quick wickets in the opening Test in Galle, again rocked the Sri Lanka top order as he bowled Dilshan (5) and then had Sangakkara caught pulling by Trent Boult at fine-leg.
Photo: Reuters
Boult also struck early, having skipper Mahela Jayawardene (4) caught by Kane Williamson at gully to reduce the hosts to 12-3.
Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on 20 with Tharanga Paranavitana 9 not out when play was called off due to bad light, with seven overs remaining in the day.
Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0 following their 10-wicket win in the first Test.
New Zealand had been strongly placed at 276-2, before losing their last eight wickets for 136 runs, with left-arm spinner Rangana Herath finishing with 6-103 for his third successive haul of five or more wickets in an innings.
Herath took six of the eight New Zealand wickets that fell in the day, including those of well-set Ross Taylor (142) and Williamson (135), after the tourists had resumed on 223-2.
New Zealand were 300-6 at one stage, but Daniel Flynn (53) helped his team cross the 400-mark with his second half-century of the series. He also completed 1,000 Test runs during his 135-ball knock.
Skipper Taylor and Williamson added 262 for the third wicket, before they fell in the space of 14 runs, trapped leg before while attempting to sweep.
Herath, who dismissed debutant Todd Astle (3) and Southee (15) in the afternoon, finished the innings soon after the tea break with the wickets of Flynn and Boult in the same over.
Taylor, 119 overnight, cracked 11 fours in his 306-ball knock, while Williamson’s 305-ball innings included 12 boundaries.
The hosts, who took their second wicket in the fourth over on Sunday, continued to struggle until Herath struck in the second hour of the morning.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but