Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 5 preview: Karunaratne, Thirimanne lead Sri Lanka to position of control

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand, 1st Test, Day 5 preview: Karunaratne, Thirimanne lead Sri Lanka to position of control

Dimuth Karunaratne Lahiru Thirimanne Sri Lanka New Zealand

New Zealand did everything right till lunch on the fourth day of the first Test. Thereafter, no matter what they tried, nothing went their way. Sri Lanka’s openers put on 133 in their chase of 268, defying spin and pace alike. New Zealand were also guilty of not taking the few chances they created, and all in all, it was a fine day for the home side.

The day began with BJ Watling and William Somerville continuing the resistance started by the former on the third day. They batted for the most of the first session, and once Watling fell for a well-made 77, Trent Boult came in and added 26 valuable, entertaining runs. Somerville, meanwhile, continued to inch his way ahead, and he ended the innings on 40* – his highest First-Class score.

At the time, it seemed New Zealand had worked their way to a winning total. On a wearing pitch, Sri Lanka would have chase down 268 difficult runs against three spinners, with their top order not entirely convincing in the first innings. Everything pointed to a New Zealand rout.

But the home side displayed grit, and plenty of it. There were plenty of edges, both batsmen were beaten numerous times, there were certainly patches in which pressure was high. But Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne remained unfazed, and by the end of it, they had survived 300 balls and put Sri Lanka in a dominant position. They’re favourites for victory on the final morning.

New Zealand will not give up hope. It’s a matter of a few quick wickets, and then building the pressure. Will Somerville displayed plenty of guile, while Ajaz Patel threatened too. They will hope to add wickets to their list come Sunday, and the earlier the better. Sri Lanka may be the favourites, but on a fifth day track in Galle, a collapse isn’t too far away.

Brief scores

New Zealand 249 and 285 (Tom Latham 45, BJ Watling 77; Lasith Embuldeniya 4/99, Dhananjaya de Silva 3/25) lead Sri Lanka 267 and 133 for no loss (Lahiru Thirimanne 57*, Dimuth Karunaratne 77*) by 134 runs.