A trademark, enterprising century from Dinesh Chandimal led Sri Lanka’s charge towards a big score, making New Zealand rue multiple lapses in the field on the opening day in Galle. Dinesh Chandimal switched gears across the first two sessions on his way to a 16th Test century, helping the hosts finish on a commanding 306 for 3. Unbeaten half-centuries from Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis provided the support act.
Dinesh Chandimal’s century (116) headlined Sri Lanka’s dominance against New Zealand on Day 1 of the second Test in Galle. Angelo Matthews (78*) and Kamindu Mendis (51*) notched up half-centuries while Dimuth Karunaratne (46) provided a handy contribution as Sri Lanka ended the first day on 306 for 3.
Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal slammed his maiden Test century against New Zealand on Day 1 of the second Test at Galle International Stadium, Galle. Chandimal brought up the milestone in the second session of the day as he brought Sri Lanka in a commanding position.
Pitch and Toss
It is a hot and humid day and we have moved to pitch number 7. This is a drier pitch with less grass, there are a few spots which the spinners will look to exploit. And they will only increase with the fast bowlers leaving footmarks. 400-450 will be a good first innings score, key to make a good start.
Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya De Silva won the toss and chose to bat with 2 changes in his playing XI with Lahiru Kumara and Ramesh Mendis making way for debutant Nishan Pieres and Milan Rathnayake. New Zealand skipper Tim Southee asked to bowl first made no changes in the playing XI from the first test.
Day 1 : Morning Session : Dinesh Chandimal, Karunaratne get SL off to steady start
Dinesh Chandimal’s counterattacking fifty (60* off 99) and his unbroken 100-run stand with Dimuth Karunaratne (40* off 90) enabled Sri Lanka to rebuild steadily on the first morning of the second Test against New Zealand in Galle. Opting to bat, the home side motored to 102/1 off the 32 overs bowled in a session that also witnessed a brief rain delay. Unlike the first Test at this venue, the surface for this game has appeared much drier from the outset and it has meant that New Zealand’s spinners have started to get turn in the first session itself.
The only wicket to fall that of Pathum Nissanka, came early on to the new ball as Tim Southee got the opener to nick one through to the keeper. There was swing on offer at the start and Karunaratne was fortunate to survive a dropped catch at first slip where the usually reliable Daryl Mitchell put down a dolly.
The opener got another life later on when he walked down the pitch against Ajaz Patel, only to get beaten but Tom Blundell missed a sharp stumping chance. Had either of the chances been taken, New Zealand would have been able to create intense pressure on the Lankans.
Instead, the partnership grew with Dinesh Chandimal being the aggressor. He also rode his luck with a few plays-and-misses while the odd mistimed stroke also ensued. That said, his intent meant that Patel, in particular, wasn’t able to adjust to a consistent line despite the turn on offer. The surface has already started to grip and explode from a length, and New Zealand’s bowlers could create more problems if they stick to the basics.
New Zealand would have picked up more than three wickets in the day had Daryl Mitchell not put down two catches at first slip, Tom Blundell not missed Dimuth Karunaratne’s stumping, and William O’Rourke not overstepped when he had Mathews caught behind.
It was Dinesh Chandimal’s chanceless innings, however, that hurt the visitors the most. He raised his sixth hundred in Galle and his fourth 50-plus score in eight Test innings while batting at No. 3 – out of his usual position in the middle order, to accommodate Kamindu at No. 5 and Kusal Mendis at No. 7.
The only thing that went New Zealand’s way was the early wicket of Pathum Nissanka who edged an outswinger from Tim Southee behind at the end of the first over. Dinesh Chandimal took on the fast bowlers when the new ball was still swinging around to set an early base for his team, and once the ball got older and conditions eased out for batting, with the sun beating down nicely, the hosts piled on the runs.
Karunaratne was the beneficiary of two lives; first dropped at slip on 5, off O’Rourke, and then he survived a stumping chance on 17 when he came down to attack Ajaz Patel and took a big swing but missed. Dinesh Chandimal also edged the ball a few times early on against the pace bowlers but that didn’t deter him from going for his shots.
He got off the mark with a fierce scythe that crashed the ball to the deep-point boundary and then went over the covers against Southee’s outswinger. He took on Ajaz’s left-arm spin from around the wicket to score quick runs.
The most picture-perfect of his boundaries was against O’Rourke when he drove a full delivery on the up, square on the off side with a lot of power and impeccable timing. When he raced to 41 off 42, Southee brought on left-arm spin from both ends to stem the flow of runs before lunch and the tactic worked as Ajaz and Mitchell Santner bowled in tandem for 15 overs for 36 runs, with the odd ball turning sharply. A now-patient Dinesh Chandimal was on 49 for 13 balls before finally getting to the landmark on his 79th ball.
Day 1 : Post Lunch Session : Dinesh Chandimal century gives Sri Lanka control
Sri Lanka took control of the opening day in Galle with yet another commanding session that saw them add 92 runs for the loss of just one wicket. The hosts went to Tea strong at 194/2.
The lone wicket they lost in the session was of Dimuth Karunaratne, who was sold down the river in a run-out by his partner Dinesh Chandimal on 46. But barring that moment, Dinesh Chandimal had mostly good things to write home in the afternoon session, including bringing up his first century against New Zealand and his 16th overall in Test cricket.
New Zealand continued to toil on a pitch that had settled down compared to the first session. They seemed to have a breakthrough when Angelo Mathews was given out caught behind but the DRS review revealed that William O’Rourke had overstepped. There wasn’t much on offer for the spinners either in the afternoon, with Ajaz Patel bowling a negative line outside leg stump to the right-handers. The right-handed batter was unbeaten on 106 at Tea as his innings was studded with 15 boundaries.
Post lunch, Dinesh Chandimal got his eye-in for a couple of overs before finding a couple of boundaries in the fourth over of the session against Mitchell Santner. At the other end, Karunaratne failed to complete his half-century as he got involved in an unfortunate run out. As a result, New Zealand managed to break their massive 122-run partnership as Sri Lanka lost their second wicket on 124.
However, Dinesh Chandimal was in no mood to give up and continued his innings with a cautious approach. He finally brought up his 16th Test century with a single against Mitchell Santner. The right-handed batter celebrated his milestone in style as he brought out the baby cradle celebration.
A brief spell of showers in the first hour pushed the lunch break from 12pm to 12.22pm and when play resumed, it was a fielding effort, aided by a mix-up, that ended the century partnership. Karunaratne flicked a ball from Santner to midwicket and ran all the way to the other end, but Dinesh Chandimal barely left his crease. Glenn Phillips’ throw from midwicket, meanwhile, reached short leg and not the keeper, and Latham hit the stumps with an under-arm throw just in time to find the batter – scrambling to regain his ground – short.
New Zealand then handed a life to Mathews. When O’Rourke had to re-bowl the last ball of the 44th over because he had overstepped, he had Mathews tickling one down the leg side and saw the umpire’s finger go up only to see the hand stretched to the side seconds later. Mathews settled his nerves thereafter by patiently seeing off the spinners who stuck to tight lines and lengths with slightly flat trajectories.
Dinesh Chandimal, meanwhile, continued to drive full deliveries through the covers, loft the spinners down the ground when the field wasn’t spread out, and he even got a bonus four runs via overthrows to reach 95. He soon acknowledged his century with a rock-the-baby celebration having become a father in June.
Mathews relied heavily on back-foot cuts and punches off the spinners, transferring his weight on the ball with his powerful arms and wrists. Dinesh Chandimal fell soon after Mathews registered his 44th Test half-century, when he danced down and missed an off break to lose his off stump, a reward for Phillips for bowling tight lines through the day.
Day 1 : Afternoon Session : Dinesh Chandimal century sets up Sri Lanka’s perfect opening day in Galle
Dinesh Chandimal’s century (116) headlined Sri Lanka’s dominance against New Zealand on Day 1 of the second Test in Galle. Angelo Matthews (78*) and Kamindu Mendis (51*) notched up half-centuries while Dimuth Karunaratne (46) provided a handy contribution as Sri Lanka ended the first day on 306 for 3.
Sri Lanka had two partnerships over 50 runs after Karunaratne and Chandimal forged a 122-run partnership at the top. New Zealand managed to pick up only one wicket in each session of the day’s play, on a pitch which settled down after it appeared dry in the first session. The visitors were also sloppy in the field, dropping three catches off the bowling of William O’Rourke while Tom Blundell missed a stumping of Karunaratne in the first session.
The hosts continued post the Tea-break positively as Ajaz Patel was taken for a boundary each by Matthews and Dinesh Chandimal. Offspinner Glenn Phillips cleaned up the centurion after Dinesh Chandimal missed a heave across the line. This brought the in-form Kamindu Mendis to the crease, who clinched two boundaries off Southee to get his innings going.
New Zealand took the second new ball but the Sri Lankans continued to be positive, scoring regular boundaries. However, Daryl Mitchell dropped his second catch of the day, spilling Mendis at slip. Things got worse for the visitors as Tom Latham dropped Matthews two overs later. At the other end, left-handed Kamindu took down Ajaz for two boundaries and a six across two overs before he reverse-swept Mitchell Santner for four to bring up his fifty.
Earlier during the day, Pathum Nissanka fell cheaply as he played early on to the new ball and was caught behind. However, Dinesh Chandimal and Karunaratne brought up the 100-run stand in the first session. Karunaratne was run-out for 46 after being sold by the river by Dinesh Chandimal soon after Lunch. But the latter excelled in the afternoon session as he brought up his 16th Test century. Angelo Matthews survived a caught behind call as O’Rourke had overstepped.
Luck continued to favour the hosts even in the last session. Kamindu, the centurion from the first Test, edged his seventh and eighth deliveries in almost identical fashion off Southee not long before the second new ball was taken, but on both occasions the ball flew through the gap between Blundell and wide slip.
After being dropped by Mitchell at slip off O’Rourke after the new ball was taken, Kamindu produced a flurry of boundaries, which started with a slog-swept six off Ajaz and included three more fours in quick succession to bring up his 53-ball half-century. O’Rourke used his height and bounce to also draw an edge off the splice of Matthews’ bat late in the day, but when the ball only kissed Tom Latham’s fingertips before going for four, Latham’s wry smile summed up New Zealand’s day.
Day 1 Review and Day 2 in focus for SL and NZ
A long, draining day ends for New Zealand as Sri Lanka’s batters have bossed all three sessions here. The visitors picked up Nissanka in the very first over, but that was the only success for the whole morning. Dinesh Chandimal and Karunaratne stitched together a solid partnership, as the former attacked while the latter blunted out the bowlers. That partnership ended only due to a needless run out as Dinesh Chandimal didn’t respond to his partner’s call.
However, he made amends by getting a superb century, and new batter Angelo Mathews made merry as well. Dinesh Chandimal had a brain fade moment as he charged out against Glenn Phillips, and ended up losing his stumps. New batter Kamindu Mendis however has come out positive and scored a fifty at nearly a run a ball, while Mathews has taken his time to get to 78.
It was the sixth Test hundred for the star batter in Galle as he continued his rich form at his favorite venue. In the 22 matches played at the venue so far, Dinesh Chandimal has scored 1726 runs at an average of 59.51 with six hundreds and seven fifties to his name. Dinesh Chandimal’s most famous hundred at Galle came against India in August 2015, where his unbeaten 162 helped Sri Lanka set a target of 176 for India in the fourth innings after being 192 runs behind in the first innings.
Sri Lanka went on to win the match by 63 runs and Dinesh Chandimal was awarded Player of the Match for his scores of 59 and 162*. Meanwhile, he will be eager to convert his hundred into a big innings against New Zealand and help Sri Lanka win the series by 2-0 .For New Zealand, Ajaz Patel bowled tight and Will O’Rourke was terribly unlucky to end wicketless, as he had three catches dropped off his bowling – two by Mitchell and one by Latham, while he also got a wicket off a no ball. A day of no luck for the Kiwis.
Sri Lanka bossed on Day 1 thanks to some sloppy fielding from the visitors to end with 306/3. They’d hope to keep adding to that while New Zealand will look to have a fruitful morning this time around with a new ball that is just 10 overs old. It is another cloudy, breeze day in Galle that seems perfect for cricket, but we can expect some disruptions later in the day due to the rain.
The pitch seems great for batting, but it is going to get tougher as the Test progresses due to the cracks and footmarks that will get the spinners in play. Farveez Maharoof at the pitch report reckoned 450 would be a good first innings score, and Sri Lanka are well on course to get something close to that. Will it be another tough day at the office for New Zealand or can they come storming back.