Sports News | Sri Lanka 102-1 at Lunch on Day 1 of 2nd Test Against New Zealand
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. Sri Lanka lost opener Pathum Nissanka in the opening over but recovered and was 102 for one at lunch on Thursday's opening day of the second Test against New Zealand.
Galle (Sri Lanka), Sep 26 (AP) Sri Lanka lost opener Pathum Nissanka in the opening over but recovered and was 102 for one at lunch on Thursday's opening day of the second Test against New Zealand.
Dinesh Chandimal, promoted to No. 3 from his usual position at five, scored his second half-century in the series. He remained unbeaten on 60 at lunch, having struck nine boundaries off 99 balls.
Chandimal was involved in a crucial partnership of 100 runs for the second wicket with Dimuth Karunaratne, who was not out on 40.
This partnership helped consolidate Sri Lanka's position after it won the toss as it aims for a first series win against New Zealand since 2009. Sri Lanka leads the two-match series 1-0 after winning the opening Test by 63 runs.
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Chandimal took a nasty blow to his helmet from William O'Rourke but continued without trouble.
Currently placed third in the World Test Championship, Sri Lanka will be looking to strengthen its standing with a win. Galle has been a friendly venue for Sri Lanka, where the home side has won 25 of the 43 matches played.
Sri Lanka made two changes from its win in the first test, also at Galle, with all-rounder Milan Rathnayake coming in for fast bowler Lahiru Kumara and Nishan Peiris replacing Ramesh Mendis.
Peiris was making his Test debut, while Ratnayake was recalled for his all-round abilities.
New Zealand retained an unchanged lineup as it bids to continue an unbeaten streak in the last six Test series against Sri Lanka.
Following defeat in the opening Test, New Zealand slipped from third to fourth in the WTC rankings. A win in the second Test would allow the Kiwis to reclaim third spot. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)