Trent Boult led a late New Zealand fight-back to leave Sri Lanka on 264-7 when rain ended play early on day one of the second Test in Hamilton yesterday.
Three wickets in two overs after tea rocked Sri Lanka just as captain Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana were looking solid with a healthy fifth-wicket partnership.
When rain halted play 23 overs short of the day’s scheduled 90, Mathews was unbeaten on 63, with Dushmantha Chameera yet to score.
Photo: AFP
Siriwardana, in only his fourth Test, was out for 62 after joining Mathews for Sri Lanka’s record fifth-wicket partnership against New Zealand of 138, eclipsing the 133 set by Mahela Jayawardene and Hashan Tillakaratne in 2003.
On a day in which fortunes ebbed and flowed, the valuable Mathews-Siriwardana pairing began when Sri Lanka were heading for trouble at 121-4.
Siriwardana was caught at first slip by Ross Taylor off the bowling of Boult, who claimed his second wicket three deliveries later when Kithuruwan Vithanage was caught by a diving Brendon McCullum at mid-off without scoring.
Just before the rain came down, Rangana Herath was run out for 4 by a fine throw from Kane Williamson in the gully region.
With three wickets after tea, New Zealand enjoyed their most productive session after winning the toss and making Sri Lanka bat on a green pitch expected to be a bowler’s paradise.
They could only manage two wickets in each of the first two sessions as Sri Lanka fought to atone for their 122-run loss in the first Test in Dunedin.
In part the tourists were helped by New Zealand’s inconsistency with line and length, but they also played an aggressive game.
“I don’t think we executed to our liking in the first couple of hours. Went past the bat a little bit but didn’t create enough pressure in first session,” Black Caps paceman Tim Southee said. “They would probably be sitting pretty at lunchtime, but the last couple of sessions we created pressure and last half hour swung back our way.”
Sri Lanka hit six sixes, double their entire first-Test total. Three of them were belted by Mathews, including one to bring up his 23rd Test 50 by driving Mitchell Santner over the rope.
Siriwardana, who hit three sixes, was particularly tough on the bowlers after tea when he smacked a rapid 36 before being caught by Taylor, who started the day dropping Kusal Mendis before Sri Lanka had any runs on the board.
Siriwardana, who scored his 62 off 81 deliveries, said Sri Lanka’s aggression was deliberate after conservative batting backfired in Dunedin.
“In the previous match we tried to stay at the crease and lost wickets. So we talked about attacking a bit more in this game. That worked when myself and Angelo Mathews were batting,” he said. “We batted through very well in the first two sessions. We had a collapse in the last few overs.”
Sri Lanka had a couple of shaky early overs, but by lunch were 108-2 after Southee had removed Dimuth Karunaratne for 12 and the aggressive Mendis for 31.
Both were caught behind by wicketkeeper B.J. Watling, who also featured in New Zealand’s second two-wicket burst soon after lunch.
Udara Jayasundera was run out for 26 when he was sent back by Dinesh Chandimal, but was not quick enough to beat Santner’s throw to Watling, who whipped off the bails.
Three overs later, Chandimal on 47 was caught behind off Doug Bracewell. Boult took 2-43 and Southee 2-51.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and