Sri Lanka in a two-nil series triumph

Vettori century a masterpiece:

Chris Dhambarage

Sri Lanka cruised to a two nil series triumph but not before the visiting New Zealand team had put up a great fight back to concede the second and final cricket Test match by 96 runs on the fifth day at the SSC ground in Maitland Place yesterday. Skipper Daniel Vettori and his team came close to performing a near miracle of batting through the final day and saving the match as they battled almost until the tea interval before surrendering for 397 runs after they were set an impossible victory target of 494 runs.

Vettori hit a career best 140 his fourth Test hundred and was last man out having faced 189 deliveries. He bettered his previous best score of 137 against Pakistan at Hamilton in 2003/04. The hero for Sri Lanka was left arm spinner Rangana Herath who bowled a marathon 48 overs to claim his third five wicket haul in Test cricket.

Sri Lanka with their second successive series win at home also remained in the second position of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Rankings with a tally of 120 points, two points behind the table leaders South Africa.

However New Zealand were able to complete the opening session almost without losing a wicket following a gigantic effort from their seventh wicket pair of skipper Daniel Vettori and all rounder Jacob Oram.

They began the day under tremendous pressure with the odds heavily against them as Sri Lanka was looking to wrap up the game within the first hour of play. However Vettori and Oram had completely different ideas as they made steady progress against some tight bowling.

The Kiwi game plan was not only to defend but they also decided to rotate the strike with the singles, twos and the odd boundary. They seem to have done their home work as both Vettori and Oram were prepared to use their feat against the spinners.

Sri Lanka of course started off proceedings with their two main strike bowlers Rangana Herath and Muttiah Muralitharan. But the New Zealand batsmen were equal to the task as they went through the initial stages without any great discomfort.

In fact a little bit of frustration crept into the Sri Lankan camp at this stage with both Vettori and Oram playing with a sound technique against the fast bowlers as well as against the spinners.

Skipper Kumar Sangakkara of course delayed in taking the second new ball until the 85th over while expecting Herath and Muralitharan would polish off the New Zealand tail. But instead they came up against some stiff resistance and were stretched to the maximum before eventually striking two overs before the lunch interval.

Sri Lanka in sheer desperation had even shifted to their occasional bowlers Tharanga Paranavithana and Chamara Kapugedera who in fact had the satisfaction of bowling in a Test match for the first time. But none of them were able to cause great trouble to Vettori and Oram who brought up their one hundred run partnership from 183 deliveries.

This stand in fact is a record for the seventh wicket for New Zealand against Sri Lanka and easily their best ever partnership for any wicket in the current series. Vettori was the first to reach his half century his 21st in Test matches from 77 deliveries and 116 minutes with the aid of seven boundaries.

The solid left hander of course survived twice in one over with one of his boundaries flying between the second and third slip area. The unfortunate bowler was Dhammika Prasad who bowled a splendid opening spell with a lot of variation and reverse swing.

There was further frustration for the home side as a certain run out chance went astray with Rangana Herath fumbling with the ball under pressure. Oram also joined his captain in completing another fighting half century his sixth in Test matches from 133 deliveries, 153 minutes and inclusive of five boundaries.

Vettori was associated in another record 69 runs partnership for the ninth wicket along with Ian Brien who occupied the crease for 75 minutes for his 12 runs.

SRI LANKA 416 and  
311-5 dec
NEW ZEALAND       
First Innings 234
NEW ZEALAND       
Second innings        
overnight 182-6)

T. McIntosh b Prasad				  7
M. Guptill c P. Jayawardene b Herath		 28
D. Flynn lbw Herath				 50
R. Taylor C M Jayawardene b Herath		 27
J. Ryder lbw Herath				 38
B. McCullum b Muralitharan			 13
J. Oram c Sangakkara b Dilshan			 56
D. Vettori c Herath b Muralitharan		140
J. Patel c Kapugedera b Muralitharan		 12
I. O’Brien c P. Jayawardene b Herath		 12
C. Martin  not out 			 	  0

EXTRAS: (13-lb, 1-nb)				 14
TOTAL: (all out, 123.5 overs)			397
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-36, 2-41, 3-97, 4-131, 5-158, 6-176,
	7-300, 8-318, 9-387, 10-397
BOWLING: Paranavitana 1-0-2-0, Thushara 23.3-1-78-0 (1-nb),
	Prasad 15-1-56-1, Herath 48-9-139-5, Muralitharan 28.2-2-85-3,
	Dilshan 6-0-15-1, Kapugedera 2-0-9-0
Result: Sri Lanka won by 96 runs to seal a 2-0 series
victory.