(Reuters) – Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana were rebuilding Sri Lanka’s first innings as the visitors reached 198-4 at tea on the first day of the second test last night after New Zealand pegged back their frenetic start.
Mathews (44) and Siriwardana (26) combined for an unbroken 77-run fifth wicket partnership after the hosts took two quick wickets after lunch in Hamilton.
Sri Lanka had resumed on 108-2 with Dinesh Chandimal on 41 and Udara Jayasundera on 23 after the visitors had scored freely in the first session despite being asked to bat on a green Seddon Park pitch.
The pair, however, had a major breakdown in communication just seven runs later when Jayasundera was run out for 26 after some good fielding by Mitchell Santner in the outfield.
Chandimal, who scored half-centuries in both innings in the first test in Dunedin, had raced along at a run a ball but on 47 chased an outswinger from Doug Bracewell that caught the edge and gave wicketkeeper BJ Watling his third catch of the innings.
His first two had been in the first session to Tim Southee, who managed to get rid of both Dimuth Karunaratne (12) and Kusal Mendis (31) to reduce the visitors to 44-2.
Mendis rode his luck after he was dropped by Ross Taylor in the second over, while a Bracewell delivery hit the top of his off stump yet failed to dislodge the bails when he was on 20.
He then got five runs when an attempted run out by captain Brendon McCullum just missed the stumps with Mendis well short of his ground and went flying to the boundary.
The stubborn Dimuth Karunaratne had again held up his end before he chased a wider delivery from Southee and got an inside edge to Watling.
Watling then took his second catch when Southee produced another perfect outswinger that Mendis had to play, but only succeeded in nicking the ball behind.
