Galle, Sep 26 (IANS): Dinesh Chandimal's century coupled with half-centuries from Angelo Mathews (78*) and Kamindu Mendis (51 not out) stamped Sri Lanka's dominance on the opening day of the second Test against New Zealand at Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Opting to bat first, the hosts had a poor start as they lost opener Pathum Nissanka (1) cheaply to Tim Southee in the first over of the match. However, a 122-run partnership between Dimuth Karunaratne and Chadimal set the tone for a strong show as Sri Lanka ended the first day on 306/3 in 90 overs.
The Kiwi bowlers didn't have much success on the day as they only managed to snap one wicket each in the remaining sessions. They also had a sloppy day in the field as well as they dropped three catches off William O'Rourke's bowling while Tom Blundell missed a stumping of Karunaratne in the first session.
Karunaratne missed out on a half-century after a horrible mix-up before Tom Latham's under-arm throw gave them their second wicket of the day.
Angelo Mathews joined Chadimal in the middle and stitched another big partnership for the third wicket. Chandimal continued playing his shots with ease and scored his 16th Test century in the second session. The duo accumulated a 97-run stand to take the hosts over the 200-run mark after the Tea break. Off-spinner Glenn Phillips finally cleaned up the centurion to take the final wicket of the day.
The in-form Kamindu Mendis came in to bat at No.5 and welcomed Southee with two boundaries to get his innings going.
New Zealand took the second new ball, but Sri Lanka remained aggressive, finding the boundaries at regular intervals. Daryl Mitchell dropped his second catch of the day, letting Mendis off the hook at slip.
Things worsened for the visitors when Latham dropped Matthews just two overs later. Meanwhile, left-hander Kamindu attacked Ajaz Patel, hitting two boundaries and a six across two overs before reverse-sweeping Mitchell Santner for four to reach his half-century.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 306/3 in 90 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 116, Angelo Matthews 78; Glenn Phillips 1-33) vs New Zealand.