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Black Caps strike early to put Sri Lankan batsmen under pressure in second Test

December 26, 2018
The opener is yet to register a Test hundred for the Black Caps.

Relive 1 NEWS NOW's live updates of Day One of the second Test between the Black Caps and Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

6:40pm: SRI 88/4 at stumps.

The end of a topsy turvy day sees a finally balanced Test going into day two.

5:30pm: SRI 53/4 Mathews 10, Silva 2

Another wicket falls, Mendis goes fishing and is caught off the bowling of de Grandhomme

5:10pm: SRI 37/3 Mathews 2, Mendis 10

Southee strikes again! This time claiming the wicket of Gunathilaka.

4:45pm: SRI 20/2 Gunathilaka 7, Mendis 0

Great start for the Kiwi team here with Chandimal's wicket the second to fall from another Southee delivery.

4:40pm: SRI 15/1 Gunathilaka 7, Chandimal 1

An early breakthrough for the Black Caps has seen Karunaratne fall to an outside edge from a Southee delivery.

4:06pm: NZ 178 all out first innings

And just like that it's over, Patel is caught by Lakmal from Kumara's bowling. Not a great innings from the Black Caps.

4:05pm: NZ 178/9 - Boult 1, Patel 2

WICKET! Big trouble for the black caps now as Watling is the latest to fall.

3:43pm NZ 175/8 - Watling 46, Patel 0

Wagner is out for a duck and Lakmal has a five wicket bag as they break for tea.

3:30pm: NZ 172/7 - Watling 43, Wagner 0

WICKET!  No record individual test score for Southee today as he is caught for 68, ten short of his best Test innings.

3.10pm: NZ 149/6 - Watling 39, Southee 53

That's 50 for Southee! A terrific knock under pressure.

2:50pm: NZ 128/6 - Watling 35, Southee 40

The pair have steadied the ship slightly for the Black Caps. 

1:56pm: NZ 64/6 - Watling 14, Southee 0

WICKET! It just gets worse for the Black Caps. de Grandhomme skies this one in the air for an easy take and he's gone for one run.

1:49pm: NZ 57/5 - Watling 8, de Grandhomme 0

WICKET! Yikes. Taylor is run-out at the non-striker's end after Kumara deflects the ball onto the stumps off Watling's straight drive. Well outside the crease and Taylor walks off straight away. Doesn't even think of a challenge.

1:43pm: NZ 56/4 - Taylor 27, Watling 7

We're back after lunch and Taylor doesn't muck around, picking off Lakmal for four with the first ball of the session.

1:04pm: NZ 51/4 - Taylor 22, Watling 7

LUNCH! That's lunch on day one and a very successful session for Sri Lanka and particularly Lakmal. Taylor is building a nice total here but he needs someone to stay with him. The Black Caps are under pressure in these bowling conditions but besides Lakmal, Sri Lanka haven't really had a threat. We'll be back soon for the second session.

12:37pm: NZ 36/4 - Taylor 15, Watling 0

WICKET! LAKMAL IS FOUR FROM FOUR! Bowls Nicholls out clean! Bowled at length outside off but it comes back in after landing hard. Nicholls looked to drive on the up but the ball cuts him in half to dislodge the bails. Lakmal now has four wickets for 11 runs in 10 overs of work.

H Nicholls b Lakmal 1

12:16pm: NZ 22/3 - Taylor 3, Nicholls 0

WICKET! Not looking good for NZ here. Williamson nicks this one behind and Lakmal claims his third wicket. Short ball angled in from wide and it picks up a thin edge on the way to Dickwella. 

K Williamson c Dickwella b Lakmal 2

12:02pm: NZ 17/2 - Williamson 0, Taylor 0

So that's drinks at Hagley. Black Caps were holding firm for the first 40 minutes but two late strikes from Sri Lanka have made this a very successful first hour. Can the old heads calm things down and log an impressive partnership?

11:52am: NZ 17/2 - Williamson 0, Taylor 0

WICKET! Latham's gone too! Fullish delivery from Lakmal that angles towards the Kiwi opener forcing him to play. Goes for a drive with his hands but it's a thick outside edge that carries to second slip. Not an ideal start.

T Latham c Mendis b Lakmal 10

11:41am: NZ 17/1 - Raval 10, Williamson 0

WICKET! Raval's gone early. A leading edge and taken easily at mid-off. He was aiming to flick it through midwicket, but ends up offering a dolly, Chandimal takes couple of steps forward and accepts the gift. Out comes the skipper!

J Raval c Chandimal b Lakmal 6

11:13am: NZ 2/0 - Raval 1, Latham 1

After back-to-back maidens to start, both Black Caps openers finally notch their first runs. Very patient early on here - not playing shots if they don't need to and plenty of leaves.

11:00am: NZ 0/0 - Raval 0, Latham 0

We're underway in Christchurch. Raval is on strike and Surang Lakmal has the new ball. Pitch definitely bowler-friendly. Fairly green on top.

TOSS

Sri Lanka win the toss and elect to bowl.

PREVIEW

Black Caps batting coach Craig McMillan spoke of the pride he has for his side, staring at the prospect of a fourth straight Test series victory, preparing to face Sri Lanka on Boxing Day in Christchurch.

With home victories over the West Indies and England last summer, coupled with a sensational away win over Pakistan in the UAE earlier this month, the Black Caps can notch a fourth straight series win, something that at one point may have only seemed a dream to supporters in New Zealand.

Speaking to media last week, McMillan opened up about the prospect of a fourth straight series victory.

"It would mean a lot," he began.

"When you talk about international sport, and cricket in general, you talk about consistency.

"We're very proud of our home record, that's one of the challenges for us now - this is a one-off Test match where the series is on the line, there's a lot to play for."

The Black Caps' failure to win against Sri Lanka in the opening Test in Wellington mean that even with a win in Christchurch, the team won't be able to rise to second in the world rankings, although McMillan says that the coaching staff are still immensely proud.

"We've been challenged in a lot of areas, in a lot of different conditions, and this side's always found a way.

"They're just finding a way to win, to perform well, which as a coach is all you can ask.

"The challenge for us is to do that for another five days, and make sure that we get on top of Sri Lanka and we win the series, which ultimately, you're trying to do."

TEAMS

NZ:  1 Jeet Raval, 2 Tom Latham, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Henry Nicholls, 6 BJ Watling (wk), 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Ajaz Patel, 11 Trent Boult

SL:  1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Danushka Gunathilaka , 3 Dinesh Chandimal, 4 Kusal Mendis, 5 Dinesh Chandimal (capt), 6 Angelo Mathews, 7 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Suranga Lakmal, 10 Dushmantha Chameera, 11 Lahiru Kumara

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