New Zealand bounce Sri Lanka out, need 47 more to win
The tides were reversed on day 3 of the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, in Hamilton, as the visitors gave away the advantage they had earned on day 2, by some poor selection of shots and a barrage of short balls bowled by Tim Southee and co.
New Zealand began their day at 232/9 and lost their solitary wicket adding just 5 runs to their total. Sri Lanka walked out to bat with a healthy lead of 55 runs and their openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis took it further to 126, before Bracewell got the first breakthrough by getting Karunaratne caught by Southee.
It took just two more balls for Bracewell to send back Udaya Jayasundera, and Sri Lanka were two down for 71. The Lankans were never really able to recover from there as wickets after wickets, courtesy their weakness against the short ball, led to a dramatic collapse as they lost their ten wickets for 62 runs.
Southee was the pick of the bowlers picking up 4 wickets while Neil Wagner took 3 and Doug Bracewell accounted for two, thereby bowling out the opponent for 133 in the second innings.
Needing 189 to win, and more than two days of play still left in the game, it looked like NZ would seal the deal comfortably, but the star with the ball for SL in the first innings, Dushmanth Chameera had other plans. He sent back the openers Tom Latham and Martin Guptill giving the Kiwis some early blows.
Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor then steadied the ship with a 67-run stand for the third wicket, before Chameera was back again to clean up Taylor. The young tearaway didn’t stop there and dismissed the Blackcaps captain Brendon McCullum too, but not before the skipper and his deputy had added 52 runs for the 4th wicket, thereby drawing NZ closer to the target.
Mitchell Santner, the all-rounder, didn’t last long, as Suranga Lakmal sent him back, getting him caught behind the keeper Dinesh Chandimal. BJ Watling along with the sublime Williamson then kept their side unscathed till stumps.
The highlight of the NZ 2nd innings was Williamson, who remained unbeaten on 78 and shared important partnerships with Taylor and McCullum to take them withing smelling distance of a series victory.
The home side now needs 47 runs when the play on day 4 begins, with 5 wickets in hand. Although, Chameera has been threatening in both the innings and would be Sri Lanka’s most important takeaway from the game, chances are that the Kiwis would close off the game comfortably.
In cricket, however, you never know.
Brief Scores: NZ 237 & 142/5 (Williamson 78, Chameera 4/45) need 47 runs to win against SL 292 & 133 (Mendis 46, Southee 4/26)