{ "id": "152649", "author": "26", "cnmid": "", "title": "Latham, Williamson Half-Tons Take Kiwis To 255-4 In First Test Against Sri Lanka", "lang": "en", "series": "609", "cup_year": "2024", "article_type": "General", "excerpt": "Half-centuries from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put New Zealand at 255-4 and in hot pursuit of Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test on Thursday.\r\n", "subtype": null, "editor1": "

NZ vs SL 1st Test (Day 2): <\/strong>Half-centuries from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put New Zealand at 255-4 and in hot pursuit of Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

SCORECARD<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The Black Caps trailed by 50 at stumps in Galle with Daryl Mitchell (41) and Tom Blundell (18) to resume in the morning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"It's been a great day for us," Latham said. "We put their spinners under pressure. It is a nice position to be in."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

No New Zealander has scored a Test century in Galle and both Williamson and Latham looked set to end that drought before falling against the run of play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Their 73-run partnership steadied the reply to Sri Lanka's first innings of 305 but ended when Latham fell before tea for 55, top-edging a sweep shot that was caught at backward square leg.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

World number two batter Willamson departed in the final session for 70 while trying to work Dhananjaya de Silva on the leg-side for a single, caught by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Aggressive sweep shots from the Kiwis foiled a concerted Sri Lankan spin attack and forced the hosts to spread the field.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

It countered New Zealand's usual vulnerability to spinners at Galle, where the tourists have lost all four of their prior Test matches played there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"In these conditions you need to be proactive," Latham said. "You need to use lot of sweeps.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"We are long way off from thinking of a win at this stage. We know things can happen very quickly here."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

De Silva had a second wicket when he bowled Rachin Ravindra, finishing 2-31 in an otherwise lacklustre day for the hosts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

- 'Speed up quickly' -<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Fewer than five overs were played in a morning session delayed by rain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Sri Lanka belatedly resumed their first innings from 302-7 overnight but lost all three remaining wickets for just three runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"We felt we were in a very good position yesterday," Sri Lanka spin coach Craig Howard said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

"If we had bowled like we generally do, we could have been better off. But both Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis were a bit off-colour today... I am sure they will come back tomorrow and do the job for the team."<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Rookie New Zealand fast bowler William O'Rourke took 5-55, his second five-wicket haul in just three Tests since his February debut against South Africa.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

That home series saw him take 9-93, the best match figures for a debutant Kiwi bowler.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

A groin injury ruled the 23-year-old O'Rourke out of the following series against Australia and his selection ahead of the more experienced Matt Henry had been a surprise.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But he vindicated selectors by delivering consistent speeds above 145 kilometres (90 miles) per hour to carve through the Sri Lankan top order on day one.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Also Read: <\/b> Highest tax paying cricketers<\/a><\/p>

A century by Kamindu Mendis, his fourth from seven Test appearances, rescued Sri Lanka from 178-5.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Kane-Williamson.jpg", "alt_img": "Sri Lanka vs New Zealand", "alt_title": "Kane Williamson", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Latham, Williamson Half-Tons Take Kiwis To 255-4 In First Test Against Sri Lanka On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "NZ vs SL 1st Test (Day 2): Half-centuries from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put New Zealand at 255-4 and in hot pursuit of Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test on Thursday.", "seo_keywords": "Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand", "tag": null, "tagging": "Kane Williamson,Tom Latham,Sri Lanka Vs Zealand,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "nz-vs-sl-1st-test-day-2-report", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "1624", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2024-09-19 20:34:32", "updated": "2024-09-19 20:34:32", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Sri Lanka Vs New Zealand", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "1", "jio_date": "2024-09-19 20:34:32", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/nz-vs-sl-1st-test-day-2-report-152649" }