Sri Lanka home for tea on third day :

Kiwis caught in Herath spin web

Elmo RODRIGOPULLE

It was that man Herath Mudiynselage Rangana Keerthi Bandara Herath again. Called on to bowl when the Kiwi score was 46 for 3, Herath immediately unwound and bowling to the end he returned the dream figures of 6 for 43 in 18 overs with 3 maidens to help dismiss the hapless Kiwis for 118.

Varying and flighting his spinners superbly, he was rewarded with a match bag of 11 for 108. It is the second time that the bowler had a match haul of 10 wickets. He was adjudged the player of the match. Set 93 for victory, it was ecstasy for the Sri Lankans when Dimuth pulled a ball to the fine leg boundary to signal a 10 wicket victory and end the agony for the Kiwis in the First of Two Test matches at the Galle International Cricket Stadium10 minutes before tea on the third day giving the New Zealanders two extra days to put their cricketing house in order.

When victory came

When the 93 runs for victory came at the wickets were openers Tharanga Paranavitana on 31 in 75 minutes with 3 fours and a six and Dimuth Karunaratne also in 75 minutes with 9 fours.

It would have been a moment of rejoicing for young Karunaratne to hit a half century and also the winning runs after making a debut duck in the first innings. He showed good technique and temperament and has strokes all round the wicket.

Herath’s spin twin, off spinner Suraj Randiv who should have had more reward than his 2 for 37, put the batsmen under pressure and gave Herath good support to help suffocate the Kiwi batsmen. After an eventful second day, when play started on the third day, New Zealand had wiped off the deficit of 26 and was 35 for one, nine runs ahead with Martin Guptil 13 and Kane Williamson 9 at the wickets.

The game was nicely poised for a decision either way. Fortune favours the brave it is said, and the Lankans led superbly by Jayawardene were brave and daring. Jayewardene could have gone on the defensive. But that was not his style.

Attacking fields

From ball one he gave his bowlers attacking fields. After his seam bowler Nuwan Kulesekera had done the early damage with the wickets of Martil Guptil and Kane Williamson, he called on his match winning spinner, Rangana Herath.

With the wicket taking spin, Herath rose to the occasion and obliged his captain. Jayawardene set attacking fields for Herath and always had fielders breathing down the necks of the Kiwi batsmen.

The pressure he built was too intense and the Kiwi batsmen just wilted. After Kulesekera’s early breaks, Herath took over to lure the batsmen to their destruction.

Could not read

The batsmen could not read the leg spin nor the straight ball from Herath. It was a sad reflection on their technique.

They must get down to some serious work at the nets, otherwise they will suffer the same fate in the Second Test at the P.Sara.

The morning session was one that visitors would want to get out of their system. It was unbelievable that they lost for 7 wickets for 61 runs.

When good footwork was needed to counter Herath, the batsmen remained glued to the crease. At 96 for 8 and a lead of just 70 runs, the Kiwis would certainly have not enjoyed their lunch.

After lunch the Kiwis lost their last two wickets for 22 runs to be all out for 118 in 44.1 overs in 182 minutes of aimless batting, setting Sri Lanka 93 for victory that did not seem possible on the third day.

Face-saving stand

To recap it was a face-saving stand of 156 for the 6th wicket between Captain Mahela Jayawardene 91 and Angelo Mathews 79 that brought Sri Lanka into the game after they were tottering at 50 for 5.

The collapse was caused by some penetrative seam and swing bowling by Tim Southee and Trent Boult. Southee had three wickets in a devastating spell.

But it was Boult who had the important wicket of Kumar Sangkkara. They bowled with great hostility and none of the early batsmen could counter them.

At 50 for 5 the Sri Lanka batting ship seemed to have run into a bit of turbulence. It was then that Captain Mahela Jayawardene and the Flight Engineer Angelo Mathews stepped in to steer the ship into safer space.

Joined forces

Jayawardene and Mathews joined forces when a collapse seemed imminent with Southee and Boult threatening. It was the intelligently carved out 6th wicket stand of 156 between the captain and vice captain that brought the Lankans into the game and into a strong position and helped them make 247, a lead of 26. Kiwis had made 221. With a lead of 26, the Lankans hit back with the wicket of Brendon McCullum caught brilliantly by Kulesekera running from square leg to mid wicket to gulp the catch.

Galle, Monday.

 New Zealand 
1st innings 221 
 
Sri Lanka 
1st innings 247 

 New Zealand 
2nd innings 

M. Guptill b Kulasekara 			13
B. McCullum c Kulasekara b Herath 		13
K. Williamson c P. Jayawardene b Kulasekara 	10
R. Taylor lbw b Herath 				18
D. Flynn b Herath 				20
J. Franklin st P. Jayawardene b Herath 	  	 2
K.     van Wyk not out 				13
D. Bracewell lbw b Herath 			 0
T. Southee st P. Jayawardene b Randiv 		16
J. Patel c Karunaratne b Herath 		 0
T. Boult c M. Jayawardene b Randiv 		13
Total (44.1 overs) 				118
Fall of wickets: 1-18 (McCullum), 2-35 (Guptill), 3-46 (Williamson), 4-60 (Taylor), 5-70 (Franklin), 6-79 (Flynn), 7-79 (Bracewell), 8-96 (Southee), 9-97 (Patel), 10-118 (Boult).
Bowling: Kulasekara 12-4-28-2, Eranga 4-2-10-0, Herath 18-3-43-6, Randiv 10.1-0-37-2.
 
Sri Lanka 
2nd innings: 
T. Paranavitana not out 	31
D. Karunaratne not out 		60
Extras (w2) 			2
Total (for no loss; 18.3 overs) 93
Bowling: Boult 4-1-15-0 (w1), Bracewell 5.3-0-35-0 (w1), Patel 5-1-22-0, Franklin 3-0-15-0, Williamson 1-0-6-0.