Vishwas Puri
The Sri Lankan team continued to maintain their dominance on day three of the second test match against New Zealand at home. The Sri Lankan team declared the innings at a score of just 602 runs at just a loss of 5 wickets, with the help of heroic innings of Dinesh Chandimal of 116 runs and both Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis with unbeaten 182 and 106 runs, respectively.
The team replicated the performance in their bowling too on the third day of the Test match. New Zealand, who ended day 2 with 22 runs at a loss of 2 wickets, looked clueless in the whole third day. In the first innings, the team struggled against spinners such as Prabath Jayasuriya and the debutant off-break bowler Nishan Peiris. The New Zealand went all down at a minor score of 88, that too on account of Mitchell Santner’s contribution of 29 runs. Prabath claimed yet another wicket as he took six wickets in the innings accompanied by the debutant Nishan Peiris.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan team, having a gigantic lead of 414 runs in hand, saw this as an opportunity to pack the match as soon as possible. They enforced a follow on to New Zealand, allowing them to bat again on the same day. The hopeless visitors started the inning as similar to the first inning. The team lost its very first wicket In the last ball of the first over. However, Devon Conway and Kane Williamson somehow managed to provide a better start as compared to their first innings. But the rapid fall of 3 wickets within 16 runs again clanked the innings of New Zealand. Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips, who came to bat after the sudden fall of wickets, managed to stabilize the innings and are still on crease. Both have managed to take the total of the team to 199 runs at a loss of 5 wickets. Nishan Peiris again bagged 3 wickets, followed by Prabath Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva clinching a wicket each.
If rain won’t interrupt the play, the match is fully in the hands of the Sri Lankan team, with 215 runs far from saving an inning defeat. In the last 5 matches played between both the countries in Galle, New Zealand hasn’t won even a single match.
