New Zealand versus Sri Lanka Test Series, 2024

2nd Test

Day-2 Morning Session Highlights:

Sri Lankan player Kamindu Mendis has reinforced the Sri Lanka’s dominance

At The Lunch of Day-2:

Sri Lanka scored 402/5 vs New Zealand.

Glenn Phillips struck twice in the first session, offering New Zealand a glimmer of hope amidst Sri Lanka’s otherwise dominant batting display.

Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva continued to build on Sri Lanka’s solid position for the second consecutive day.

The pair added a 74-run partnership before de Silva top-edged a sweep on the stroke of lunch.

Phillips had earlier removed Angelo Mathews in similar fashion, courtesy of a mistimed sweep.

Although both de Silva and Mathews missed out on personal milestones, they provided valuable support to Mendis in strengthening Sri Lanka’s advantage.

Mendis, characteristically prolific, was just seven runs shy of his fifth century in seven Tests.

His approach was cautious during the session, while de Silva started aggressively, lofting Phillips for six to signal intent and ease any pressure after Mathews’ early departure.

The sweep proved to be a reliable scoring option for de Silva, even inspiring Mendis to attempt a reverse sweep.

Phillips remained New Zealand’s most threatening bowler throughout the session, generating notable drift at times to trouble the batters.

Mendis survived an LBW review against the off spinner, with the arm ball sliding down the leg side.

Despite this, Phillips posed the biggest challenge, while Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner were negotiated with relative comfort on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.