Angelo Mathews is unbeaten on 44 © AFP (File photo)
Sri Lanka go to tea at 202 for 4 on Day One of the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton. Angelo Mathews and Milonda Siriwardana’s unbeaten half-century stand has rescued Sri Lanka from a precarious situation. Sri Lanka began the session at 108 for 2 after recovering well in the first session after they had lost their openers. But the post-lunch session started on a bad note as they lost their two well-set batsmen Udara Jayasundera and Dinesh Chandimal in quick succession. Jayasundera was dismissed when he was looking for a second run for . His wicket was followed by that of Chandimal’s who nicked one to the wicketkeeper. BJ Watling now has three catches in this innings already. Live Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd Test, Day 1 at Hamilton
New Zealand will be happy with the way the session began, but not with the way it went on after they picked those two important wickets early on. The run out was a lucky break, but the bowlers have otherwise not been particularly effective on what is a green pitch at Seddon Park. Mathews and Siriwardana have batted sensibly and have not let the opposition dominate them. Had they lost either one of these two, the session would have easily belonged to New Zealand. But Sri Lanka can be proud of the fact that they have won both sessions of the day so far. Live Cricket Updates: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd Test, Day 1 at Hamilton
Sri Lanka do not have much batting to come after this pair. Kithuruwan Vithange is the only recognised batsman, followed by the tail. therefore Mathews and Siriwardana will have to ensure that they put on a big partnership and get a big score themselves. The final session will be a crucial one for both teams.
Earlier, New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first. The decision did not come as a surprise as the pitch was a green top and New Zealand with four seamers in the team would have wanted to exploit it. Both teams have gone onto the match with the same playing XI. New Zealand lead the two-Test series 1-0, courtesy of a 122-run win at Dunedin.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 198 for 4 (Dinesh Chandimal 47, Angelo Mathews 44*; Tim Southee 2 for 51, Doug Bracewell 1 for 44 ) vs New Zealand.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)