New Zealand's pace attack posed a greater threat on the second day than Sri Lanka's had done in similar conditions on the first, testing the top order with movement in both directions from unwaveringly accurate lines and lengths. The opener Kusal Mendis, who was playing his second Test, and the debutant Udara Jayasundera succumbed early in the alien environment, but Sri Lanka's more experienced batsmen - Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal - kept New Zealand wicketless in the second session.
Having survived an edgy period before lunch, Karunaratne and Chandimal - both of whom were in their 24th Test - focused on defence rather than scoring. They made only 65 in the afternoon, their 74-run partnership taking 35.1 overs, during which Karunaratne brought up his seventh half-century.
That Karunaratne got as far as he did was because of a little luck and a lot of skill in the morning. In the first over on the innings, he left his bat raised while ducking a bouncer from Trent Boult, the ball pinging off the periscope over the wicketkeeper's head. In the third over, he edged consecutive outswingers from Boult, but crucially played with soft hands so the catches did not carry to first slip.
Mendis, however, did not use soft hands, pushing hard and in front of his body to play Boult with the swing towards short midwicket, before slogging to the boundary. It was a delivery from Boult that slanted away from the right-hander that got Mendis, who had pressed forward again with firm hands, causing the edge to carry to BJ Watling for his 100th dismissal.
Tim Southee tested Karunaratne with two consecutive yorkers that hooped into the left-hander and homed in on his boot. Karunaratne inside-edged the first on to his pad, and blocked out the second confidently. Jayasundera also got a similar delivery as his first ball in Test cricket and survived.
Jayasundera scored his first run by tucking Boult off his pads, but did not make another. He had watched Karunaratne slash a wide ball from Neil Wagner over the slips for four, but when he reached out to cut, he only managed a toe end to Watling.
Unlike Sri Lanka's quicks, New Zealand's fast bowlers did not offer scoring opportunities. Boult's first spell read 6-2-16-1 and Southee's 5-1-6-0. That pressure was maintained by Doug Bracewell, who conceded only five runs in four overs before lunch.
The scoring stayed slow after the break, the difference being the growing assuredness of Sri Lanka's batsmen. Runs came via compact punches, dabs and crisp flicks off the pads - nothing extravagant. Boult had resumed the attack for New Zealand but had to go off the field three overs into his second spell, and did not bowl again in the session.
Karunaratne played the pull confidently, off Bracewell and Southee, getting on top of the bounce and rolling his wrists to keep the ball down. With the ball not doing much for the seamers, Brendon McCullum brought on Mitchell Santner in the 30th over and the left-arm spinner was economical as well, conceding only 12 runs in his first ten overs. Sri Lanka made only 24 runs in the first hour after lunch.
After 80 deliveries of restraint, Chandimal attacked, charging Santner and aiming a heave down the ground. The outside edge flew over slip. Two balls later he cut Santner for his only boundary in 103 deliveries to bring up the 50 partnership.
Karunaratne also began to score more freely towards tea, thumping consecutive half-volleys from Wagner to the long-on and straight boundaries, and glancing a rare loose ball from Bracewell off his pads as well. The slight loosening of New Zealand's purse strings was the reward for diligent batsmanship.
The runs had come faster for New Zealand early in the morning, when their last two wickets added 22 in 6.1 overs to take the score to 431. Bracewell, resuming the day on 32 off 39 balls, continued his attack, pulling and slashing Nuwan Pradeep for fours in the day's third over, soon after Wagner had top-edged a hook for six off Dushmantha Chameera in the previous over.
When Wagner attempted the shot again off Pradeep, though, the top edge found long leg. With the last man Boult for company, Bracewell pulled Chameera again to the boundary before he fell across his crease to given lbw to Pradeep, who finished with a four-wicket haul. Bracewell wanted to review the decision but was told by the on-field umpire that the DRS was not available because of technical issues. It was the right decision, though.
(espncricinfo)
