Rookie left-hander Rachin Ravindra’s unbeaten 91 gave New Zealand a slender chance against Sri Lanka, with two wickets remaining and another 68 runs needed after day four of the first Test on Sunday.
Set a target of 275, New Zealand were 207-8 at stumps with spinner Ajaz Patel, on nought, to resume with Ravindra on Monday.
Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya picked up three wickets each on a sharply turning pitch in Galle, where the Black Caps have lost all four of their previous Test encounters.
“This is the usual Galle pitch,” Jayasuriya told reporters. “We know that anything above 250 is tough to chase. It is really helping us now.”
“We need to take two wickets but we are aware a set batsman is out there as well. We need to put some pressure on them in the morning,” he said.
Ravindra’s knock was the highest score by a New Zealander at the ground, eclipsing Ross Taylor’s 89 in 2019.
The left-hander appeared solid on a spin-friendly wicket but lacked support from other batsmen, with Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell the next biggest scorers on 30 apiece.
The tourists lost four wickets by tea before Ravindra’s 56-run stand with Blundell briefly revived hopes until the latter was bowled by Jayasuriya.
Jayasuriya also secured the key wicket of Williamson for 30, the former skipper lured out of his crease and stumped by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.
New Zealand opener Tom Latham was trapped lbw by Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva for 28, while Ramesh bowled Daryl Mitchell for eight.
Williamson, Latham and Mitchell had all made half-centuries in the first innings.
– ‘Controlling the ball’ –
Ajaz Patel’s six-wicket haul helped restrict Sri Lanka to 309 in the morning.
His figures of 6-90 were the best by a New Zealand bowler in Sri Lanka since Daniel Vettori’s 6-64 in Colombo in 1998.
“It was all about controlling the ball and pitching it on the right areas,” Patel told reporters.
“It is about sticking to the process and the pitch does the rest,” he added. “I like that challenge.”
The match had a rest day on Saturday due to Sri Lanka’s presidential elections and play resumed on Sunday morning without spectators.
Fans returned after lunch when the election curfew was lifted.
The hosts were 237-4 at the start of the day and added another 72 runs, with veteran Angelo Mathews making 50 before offering a simple catch to first slip off Patel’s bowling.
Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored for Sri Lanka with 83 before he was bowled by Patel on Friday.
The second and final match of the series will be held at the same venue from Thursday.
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