Angelo Mathews remains unbeaten as Sri Lanka post 264/7 against New Zealand at stumps of 2nd Test, Day 1

Tim Southee bagged two crucial wickets in Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis within Sri Lanka’s team score of 50.

Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten at 63 © Getty Images

After a 122-run defeat against New Zealand in the first Test, Sri Lanka start off the 2nd Test on a positive note as they manage to put up a good display of batting. Despite the promising green wicket that seemingly had a lot to offer for the pacers, it didn’t disappoint the batsmen as Sri Lanka posted a good 264 until rain stopped play. Day 1 has been interesting so far as both the teams share the equal possibility to dominate over the other at stumps as New Zealand snatched some wickets in quick succession after lunch leaving Sri Lanka in a hard situation. Live Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd Test at Hamilton

It was an easy decision for New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum to elect fielding looking at the pitch as the hosts won the toss. The bowlers did not disappoint as Tim Southee bagged two crucial wickets in Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis within Sri Lanka’s team score of 50. New Zealand looked to be in a comfortable position at the point till the next man in, Dinesh Chandimal, built up a much needed partnership of 71 runs with Udara Jayasundera to provide the initial stability that their team was seeking. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: New Zealand vs Sri Lanka 2015-16, 2nd Test at Hamilton, Day 1
Chandimal missed on his half century narrowly as he departed making 47 following Jayasundera who scored 26, which made way for the most successful pair of the day, skipper Angelo Mathews and Milind Siriwardana. Both the batsmen kept their cool and went on to score their individual half centuries.
The momentum shifted from New Zealand to Sri Lanka once again, as the duo went on to build the highest partnership of the day of 138 runs. They looked unstoppable until Trent Boult helped New Zealand make a comeback removing a set Siriwardana for 62 runs. But the real trouble began for Sri Lanka when they lost two more wickets quickly as Kithuruwan Vithanage got caught at mid-off facing a Trent Boult delivery while Rangana Herath gave away his wicket in a terrible run out and a brilliant direct hit by Kane Williamson from gully. Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten at 63 as Dushmanth Chameera joined him at the crease.
Play stopped after 67 overs as players were taken off the field due to heavy rain. While the bowlers have done great for the New Zealand side taking 7 wickets in day 1, 264 is not a bad score as well. Now the onus will be on Mathews as he is one dependable batsman the team can hope upon in pressure situations, while New Zealand would like to scalp more wickets early on day two to finish things off as soon as possible.
Apart from batting and bowling, some good pieces of fielding grabbed attention s the black caps skipper took a couple of brilliant catches. Other one being Kane Williamson’s direct hit to dismiss Rangana Herath which reflected his good presence of mind and flexibility there.
Full Scorecard
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 264 for 7 ( Angelo Mathews* 67, Milind Siriwardana 62; Trent Boult 2 for 43) vs New Zealand
(Paulami Chakraborty, a singer, dancer, artist, and photographer, loves the madness of cricket and writes about the game. She can be followed on Twitter at @Polotwitts)