Grinding Test Cricket

Samaraweera 76x

With the pitch in Colombo getting slower and Sri Lanka deep in trouble against New Zealand, the batting on day three was a matter of grinding away against a tight Kiwi attack.

Opener Paranavitana and vice captain Angelo Mathews spent the morning session slowly placing building blocks in place after the Sri Lankan top order was torn down in only six overs the night before. Shot making was kept to a minimum and nudges were the most expansive shots played. Their work was just about done but Tim Southee's second spell just before lunch put an end to both of them. Paranavitana played forward to a ball which angled across him and took the edge to van Wyck and Mathews pushed at a ball outside his off stump with hard hands and deflected it for what should have been a boundary past third slip. Martin Guptil took a screamer, low and well away to his right.

After lunch, Prasanna Jayawardene tried to sweep Jeetan Patel and Kane Williamson had to run and dive at deep square leg after misjudging the skied ball.

Thilan Samaraweera, short on runs in recent times, played a pressure innings for the rest of the day with a strike rate below fifty but refused to yield and aided by Suraj Randiv, passed the first hurdle - the follow on - with an unbeaten stand of 97. Three days in and the second side still batting on a slowing wicket doesn't bode well for a result and New Zealand may well rue the slowness of their own first innings.