Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1st Test, Check Highlights From Day 1's Play
Check highlights from Day 1's play of the ongoing first Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand at the Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1st Test Day 1 Highlights:
Raised up the order to score even more runs, prolific middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis struck a fine hundred on Wednesday to rescue Sri Lanka from a precarious position as the hosts reached 302-7 at stumps on Day 1 of the first test against New Zealand.
Kiwi quick William O’Rourke claimed three wickets in Galle but Mendis (114) was untroubled, posting his fourth century in test match cricket in only his seventh test.
The left-handed batsman has scored more than 800 runs in just 11 innings and he is on course to become the fastest Sri Lankan to 1,000 test runs, with Roy Dias (23 innings) currently holding that record. Apart from four hundreds, Mendis also has scored four half-centuries.
“After my debut, I had to sit out for two years and I can perfectly understand why it happened. I came into the side because Dhananjaya (de Silva) was down with COVID and I had to go out when he was back in the side. Although I didn’t play those two years, it was a good learning experience looking at all the seniors,” Mendis said.
“Then obviously at High Performance Center the support I received from all the coaches helped me to improve my game leaps and bounds. Things like tightening my technique. Getting my mindset right. They were all good things that happened.”
Mendis had been batting at No. 7 until this test match, when he was promoted to No. 5. Often he had batted with the tail while occupying the lower position and had run out of partners.
New Zealand had the advantage after reducing Sri Lanka to 178-5 and with the last recognized pair out in the middle. Mendis, with Kusal Mendis (50), was involved in a 103-run partnership for the sixth wicket to help Sri Lanka fight back.
Kamindu Mendis reached his century by putting away a full toss from part-time spinner Rachin Ravindra to the boundary.
Kusal Mendis, made to keep wicket and pushed to No. 7 in this game, was fighting for his place but should be fine for the rest of the series.
The partnership was broken when Kusal Mendis was dismissed in unusual fashion. The batter pulled Glenn Phillips’ delivery and the ball stuck short leg fielder Tom Latham and popped up to Tim Southee at short mid-wicket for an easy catch.
New Zealand took the second new ball soon after it was available and it was spinner Ajaz Patel who made the breakthrough by dismissing Kamindu Mendis with just five minutes to go for stumps.
Sri Lanka lost both its openers Pathum Nissanka (27) and Dimuth Karunaratne (2) early in the day after electing to bat first as O’Rourke removed both batters.
O’Rourke also struck Angelo Mathews on his right index finger forcing the batter to retire. He did come out to bat after lunch and made 36.
“This is my first experience of playing in Asia at test match cricket and conditions were quite tough as it was hot and humid. I just tried to run in hard and hit the deck hard,” said O’Rourke, who finished with 3-54 from 17 overs. “Things are pretty even at the moment. Yes we wanted to bat first as well on that wicket, but to get seven wickets for 300 runs is not bad.”
Phillips was the pick of the spinners, bowling captain Dhananjaya through the gate.
New Zealand had a warm-up test match last week against Afghanistan in India washed out after five days without a ball being bowled. Sri Lanka is coming off a three-match test series in England which the hosts won 2-1.
The teams will play a second test beginning Sept. 26, also at Galle.
The Galle pitch always produces a bit of turn but it was the pacer William O’Rourke who took three wickets. Phillips too rolled his arms and managed two wickets to his name. Sri Lanka still have a bit of batting left and if they somehow manage to get over 350, they’ll take the driving seat in this first Test match. Let’s see how things pan out. Stay tuned.
Hello everyone! It’s time for the action of Day 2 between Sri Lanka and New Zealand. The highlight of Day 1 was predicted tthat the rain will hamper the proceedings but turned out the new rising star of Lanka, Kamindu Mendis yet again showed his immense maturity to notch a brilliant ton against the Kiwis. He looked well oiled for a big score but fell right at the end of Day 1 which has given the Kiwis a bit of hope to run through the tail quickly and restrict Lanka under 350.
…DAY 2, SESSION 1…
Right then, the first day of this Test match has remained unscathed even after chances of rain throughout the day and we have had 88 overs worth of play. The average first-innings total at Galle is about 365 runs and Sri Lanka seem to be heading close to that but with the loss of Kamindu Mendis, they will have to be watchful on Day 2. Can the Kiwis regroup and knock over the Lankan tail early on Day 2? Only time will tell. Join us on Thursday at 3.30 am GMT for the build-up of Day 2 with the cricketing action scheduled to begin at 4.30 am GMT.
New Zealand were very competitive with the ball in the first two sessions but everyone knew that the pitch would flatten out, especially after Tea and that’s what happened but their frontline spinners didn’t do much justice either. Ajaz Patel had a torrid time after his initial spell of 10 overs and whilst Mitchell Santner bowled tight, he didn’t look like picking up a wicket. Young pacer, William O’Rourke was the star with 3 wickets and towards the end, Patel did come back to get the crucial wicket of Kamindu Mendis as all-rounder Glenn Phillips did a lot of the heavy lifting to make up the overs and bowled decently well too.
The final session was Lanka’s best in terms of not just runs scored but the scoring rate as well which ensured, they knocked over 300 plus runs on Day 1 and set up the Test match nicely. Kamindu Mendis was the star of the show with a score of 50 or more now in all of his 7 Tests and his partnership worth 103 runs along with Kusal Mendis was the backbone of Lanka’s first innings. Kusal fell after reaching his fifty but Kamindu went on to score a stellar ton before falling to a fine delivery a few minutes before the end of the day’s play which has now allowed New Zealand to just sneak back into the game.
What a day of Test cricket we have witnessed in Galle. It was engrossing and things ebbed and flowed at a brisk pace and at the end of it all, hosts Sri Lanka will be the happier of the two sides heading into Day 2 not by much though.
87.6 – No run.
87.5 – No run.
87.4 – Fired in full, on middle and off, Ramesh Mendis with a straight bat blocks it down the deck.
87.3 – Slants this full and slightly down leg, Ramesh Mendis moves away from the line and leaves it alone.
87.2 – Full and attacking the stumps, Ramesh Mendis offers a solid front foot block.
87.1 – Fuller in length and on off, Ramesh Mendis drives it to cover.
86.6 – No run.
86.5 – No run.
86.4 – Tossed up, full and on off, Prabath Jayasuriya stays leg side of the ball and pushes it out to covers.
86.3 – Full again, pretty quick and straight, Prabath Jayasuriya blocks it off.
86.2 – Darted in full on middle and leg, Prabath Jayasuriya jams it out.
Prabath Jayasuriya is the new man in.
86.1 – OUT! CAUGHT! Oh, that exploded off the deck and @kam has to walk back now after a fine, fine knock. Ajaz Patel gets his man and New Zealand have the crucial breakthrough.
85.6 – No run.
Batsman_1 : Ramesh Mendis 14(36)
Batsman_2 : Kamindu Mendis 114(172)
Bowler : William O’Rourke 3/54(17)
Over : 86
Run : 3
Wicket : 0
Score : 302/6
85.5 – No run.
85.4 – No run.
85.3 – On a length and on middle and off, Ramesh Mendis eases it to mid-wicket.
85.3 – Full and on middle and leg, Ramesh Mendis taps it to mid-wicket. William O’Rourke has overstepped again and it is called a No ball.
85.2 – On a length and on off, Ramesh Mendis taps it to point.
85.4 – No run.
85.3 – Full and on middle and leg, Ramesh Mendis taps it to mid-wicket.
85.2 – On a length and on off, Ramesh Mendis taps it to point.
85.2 – Bye.
It is raining amidst all the sunshine at the Galle International Stadium! The ground staff is waiting patiently but the umpires play on because it really is sunny out in the middle, pretty interesting sight this.
85.1 – From around the wicket, O’Rourke bowls it on a length and just outside off, Kamindu Mendis pats it to point.
84.6 – Straight on with the arm, fuller in length and on middle and off, Ramesh Mendis eases it back to the bowler.
Batsman_1 : Ramesh Mendis 14(30)
Batsman_2 : Kamindu Mendis 114(170)
Bowler : Ajaz Patel 0/58(17)
Over : 85
Run : 1
Wicket : 0
Score : 299/6
84.5 – Full and on middle and off, Ramesh Mendis offers a good block.
84.1 – Comes back into the attack and fires one full, outside off, Kamindu Mendis charges down to the pitch of the ball and blocks it out.
84.4 – No run.
84.3 – No run.
84.2 – Tossed up, on off, Kamindu Mendis cuts it to deep point for one.
83.6 – No run.
83.5 – Bangs it short over middle, Ramesh Mendis ducks under.