Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Here's Shiva Jayaraman with a stat:

Five catches off a bowler for a fielder/keeper in a Test innings:

Bob Taylor-Ian Botham, Eng v Ind, 1980 - 5

Mark Boucher-Allan Donald, SA v Eng, 1998 - 5

Adam Gilchrist -Michael Kasprowicz, Aus v SL, 2004 - 5

Lahiru Thirimanne-Lasith Embuldeniya, SL v Eng, 2021 - 5

Dhananjaya de Silva-Prabath Jayasuriya, SL v NZ, 2024 - 5

11:45am Well, that was carnage. And that is probably the only way to put it. New Zealand were under pressure when the day began. But what transpired in the first hour was perhaps beyond their wildest nightmare. Batters fell like a pack of cards and for most of the session, it seemed a procession. The fact that O'Rourke and Santner (the last-wicket stand) kept SL at bay more than most, encapsulates the morning they had.

Now, onto Sri Lanka. Jayasuriya did what he almost always does at Galle: pick up a five-wicket haul and break the back of the opposition. His drift, dip and guile was just too much to dissect for the Kiwis and he found an able ally in debutant Peiris, who kept things tight and kept chipping away, barely offering the visitors any freebies. Sri Lanka, without a shadow of a doubt, are the team in control of this game and will now want to pile further misery on the Black Caps. We will be back in a bit with the second innings.

39.5
W
Peiris to Santner, OUT, knocks him over with a corker! Finally gets the length right and that does it for Santner. Neither too full to get forward to, nor too short to go back. Drops on Santner on a length, having drifted into off stump and then rags away, breezing past the outside edge of his defence and knocking back off stump. The word has come through: Sri Lanka have enforced the follow-on, meaning that there will be no immediate respite from this trial by spin for the Kiwi batters!

MJ Santner b Peiris 29 (50m 51b 4x4 1x6) SR: 56.86

39.4
0
Peiris to Santner, no run, fuller on middle and off. Santner pokes it towards extra cover
39.3
0
Peiris to Santner, no run, full on middle and off. Santner comes forward and blocks
39.2
0
Peiris to Santner, no run, fullish outside off. Santner comes forward and defends
39.1
2
Peiris to Santner, 2 runs, fired in on a length on off. Santner stabs at it and chunks it off the inside edge behind square. Rolls away into open acreage and he can canter back for two

Akindu: "DDS ought to have a couple overs. He's the man that's gonna break the partnership" -- SL could do with a slight shuffle-up. Peiris to continue for now. This is the highest partnership of the innings, by the way

END OF OVER:
39 | 2 Runs | NZ: 86/9

  • Will O’Rourke2 (15b)
  • Mitchell Santner27 (46b)
  • Prabath Jayasuriya18-6-42-6
  • Nishan Peiris17-3-31-2
38.6
0
Jayasuriya to O'Rourke, no run, full on middle and off. O'Rourke gets a big stride in and smothers it
38.5
1
Jayasuriya to Santner, 1 run, shortish on middle and leg. Santner gives himself room and punches it towards extra cover. Dashes across to the other end to complete the single

Over the wicket to Santner

38.4
1
Jayasuriya to O'Rourke, 1 run, shorter outside off. O'Rourke jabs it just behind point and picks up a single
38.3
0
Jayasuriya to O'Rourke, no run, back of a length on middle and off. O'Rourke goes deep into his crease and meets the ball under his eyes
38.2
0
Jayasuriya to O'Rourke, no run, fullish outside off. O'Rourke presses forward and defends

Around the wicket now

38.1
0
Jayasuriya to O'Rourke, no run, back of a length on leg stump. O'Rourke gets behind the line and defends

Stays over the wicket

END OF OVER:
38 | 4 Runs | NZ: 84/9

  • Mitchell Santner26 (45b)
  • Will O’Rourke1 (10b)
  • Nishan Peiris17-3-31-2
  • Prabath Jayasuriya17-6-40-6
37.6
0
Peiris to Santner, no run, back of a length outside off. Santner eases it into the off side but does not get the single he is after
37.5
4
Peiris to Santner, FOUR, up and over! Full on the stumps again. Santner decides to put on his dancing shoes and crashes it over the bowler's head. Utter conviction in that stroke!
37.4
0
Peiris to Santner, no run, fired in full on off. Santner plays it back to the bowler

New Zealand 3rd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st0DP ConwayTWM Latham
2nd97KS WilliamsonDP Conway
3rd13KS WilliamsonR Ravindra
4th3DJ MitchellR Ravindra
5th8TA BlundellR Ravindra
6th95TA BlundellGD Phillips
7th64MJ SantnerGD Phillips
8th11TG SoutheeMJ Santner
9th53MJ SantnerAY Patel
10th16MJ SantnerW O'Rourke