GALLE: Sri Lanka launched a ruthless spin attack which powered them to move five wickets away from a resounding victory over New Zealand in the second Test.
The touring side were 199/5 at the Stumps on Day 3, still trailing by 315 runs after the home side imposed a follow-on, having booked them on a meagre 88 in the first innings.
Wicketkeeper batter Tom Blundell was unbeaten on 47 and Glenn Phillips on 32 when bad light forced an early closure to an eventful day of action at the Galle International Stadium.
The touring side had a shaky start to their second innings as experienced opener Tom Latham bagged a six-ball duck in the first over.
Devon Conway was then joined by second-ranked Test batter Kane Williamson and together they raised a fighting 97-run partnership for the second wicket.
Dhananjaya de Silva broke the threatening partnership by getting rid of Conway, who scored 61 off 62 balls.
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Williamson soon followed suit as he fell victim to Nishan Peiris after scoring 46 off 58 deliveries.
The touring side slipped further to 121/5 with Daryl Mitchell (1) and Rachin Ravindra (1) perishing cheaply before Blundell and Phillips hung on.
Earlier in the day, New Zealand resumed their first innings at 22/2 with skipper Williamson and nightwatchman Ajaz Patel.
New Zealand’s batting unit struggled against a ruthless Sri Lanka spin attack with their best partnership being 20 runs, added by the last pair of Mitchell Santner, who top-scored with a gritty 29 and William O’Rourke (2).
Prabath Jayasuriya was the star with the ball for Sri Lanka, taking six wickets, followed by debutant Peiris, who bagged three.
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