2nd Test
Day-3 Evening Session Highlights:
Prabath Jayasuriya and Nishan Peiris has put the Sri Lanka team in a commanding position
At The Stumps of Day-3:
Sri Lanka scored 602/5 decl (1st Innings), where as New Zealand scored 88 (1st Innings) & 199/5 f/o (2nd Innings).
So, finally Sri Lanka lead by 315 runs.
On an eventful Day 3 of the second Test in Galle against New Zealand, Sri Lanka claimed 13 wickets to assert their dominance.
Prabath Jayasuriya once again bamboozled the visitors, picking up six wickets in the first innings as New Zealand was bundled out for 88.
Debutant Nishan Peiris made an impact as well, taking three wickets in each innings.
By the end of the day’s play, New Zealand had reached 199 for 5 while following on.
The day’s play was cut short due to bad light and subsequent rain, leading to an early stumps call.
The ground was fully covered after only 10 overs were bowled in the final session, which ended wicketless—a rarity given the action-packed earlier sessions.
Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips counterattacked in the fading light, smashing four sixes and a boundary against Peiris, as they put together an unbeaten 78-run stand.
New Zealand resumed their first innings at 22 for 2, but Jayasuriya and Peiris quickly made their mark.
Jayasuriya removed Kane Williamson, who edged to slip after attempting a forward lunge.
Rachin Ravindra tried to stabilize the innings alongside Ajaz Patel, but he was bowled for 10, missing a paddle shot to become Peiris’s maiden Test wicket.
Daryl Mitchell showed some resistance, hitting a boundary and a six off Jayasuriya, but New Zealand soon crumbled to 52 for 5 when Ajaz was trapped lbw by Peiris.
Things deteriorated further for New Zealand as Jayasuriya dismissed both Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips at slip within a few overs.
Mitchell Santner provided some relief with a top score of 29, forging a 20-run partnership with William O’Rourke for the final wicket—the highest of the innings.
With a commanding lead of 514 runs, Sri Lanka enforced the follow-on.
Peiris struck early again, dismissing Tom Latham in the first over just before Lunch.
By that point, New Zealand had lost nine wickets in the morning session alone.
After Lunch, Devon Conway and Williamson briefly fought back, putting together a 97-run stand.
Conway led the charge with a flurry of boundaries, reaching his fifty in just 48 balls, including a stylish cover drive off Milan Rathnayake.
He also successfully overturned an lbw decision during his knock.
However, Conway’s resistance ended on 61 when Dinesh Chandimal took a brilliant catch running back from cover.
Soon after, Williamson was dismissed for 46, miscuing Peiris to long-on.
New Zealand’s troubles deepened when Daryl Mitchell was caught at short-leg off Jayasuriya, and Rachin Ravindra was bowled by Peiris, leaving them struggling at 129 for 5 at Tea.
However, the Blundell-Phillips partnership provided some much-needed resistance as they headed into Day 4.
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