Doug Bracewell was unbeaten on 30 yesterday © Getty Images
Sri Lanka were shot out for 292 in their first innings on Day 2 as they lost their final three wickets in quick succession. However, Sri Lanka came back strongly and reduced New Zealand to 232/9 by the end of play yesterday. Right-arm pace bowler Dushmantha Chameeera took a five-wicket-haul. The highest scorer for the hosts was Martin Guptill at the top-order with 50 runs. Barring him, a few of New Zealand lower middle-order batsmen got starts but were not able to convert them into big scores. It will be interesting to see how long Sri Lanka will take to pick the final New Zealand wicket. Currently, Sri Lanka are leading by 60 runs. New Zealand will be hoping that their last wicket fetches them 60 runs or more so that they can finish off the trail although the possibility of this happening is less as Sri Lanka are bowling very well. This match will give a result in high probability. Live Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd Test, Day 2 at Hamilton
Day three is going to be interesting. Let’s see if New Zealand’s pace bowlers— Trent Boult and Tim Southee are able to give them quick wickets in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Sri Lanka is certainly in a better position in this match now. However, the momentum can shift any way since Sri Lanka’s margin of advantage is very less. Also, New Zealand are better aware of home conditions and know how the pitch and ball will behave on the third day.
Earlier, on day one Sri Lanka were 264/7 at stumps. Their last five batters did not even reach double figures. Sri Lanka’s skipper Angelo Mathews was their top scorer with 77 followed by Milinda Siriwardana with his quick 62-run knock off 81 deliveries. Dinesh Chandimal too chipped in with 47 but apart from these three Sri Lankan batsmen, others did not offer much resistance particularly their tail with their last six wickets falling for only 33 runs. Live Cricket Updates: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16 2nd Test, Day 2 at Hamilton