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Will O’Rourke shines again after Black Caps blow chance for big first-innings lead
Harry Potter • September 23rd, 2024 7:52 pm
At Galle International Stadium: Sri Lanka 305 & 237-4 (Dimuth Karunaratne 83, Dinesh Chandimal 61; Will O’Rourke 3-37) met the Black Caps 340 all out (Tom Latham 70, Daryl Mitchell 57, Kane Williamson 55; Prabath Jayasuriya 4-136, Ramesh Mendis 3-101)
Where there is Will O’Rourke, there seems to be a way.
But the Black Caps needed more than another strong outing from their new seamer to turn the first test against Sri Lanka their way on Friday – and they didn’t get it.
At stumps on day three at Galle International Stadium – ahead of a rest day on Saturday while Sri Lanka’s presidential election takes place – the hosts were on top at 237-4 in their second innings.
That meant they led by 202 runs, after they knocked off the Black Caps’ first-innings lead of 35 in a second session where they scored 102 runs without losing a wicket.
O’Rourke led a brief fightback in the third and final session, getting Dinesh Chandimal caught for 61 by Tom Latham at short fine leg – a clever piece of bowling to a plan – then getting Kamindu Mendis to edge one to Daryl Mitchell on 13.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel had been the first bowler to break through, ripping one out of the rough past a sweeping Dimuth Karunaratne, who had to depart for a fine 83.
But there were no more wickets after that, as Angelo Mathews and Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva batted through to stumps, where they were unbeaten on 32 and 34 respectively.
The Black Caps will look to Pakistan’s successful chase of 342 in Galle in July 2022 as a sign they are far from out of this contest, but they will be eager to ensure their target is much closer to 200 when play resumes on Sunday at 4.05pm (NZ time).
This match has moved slowly for large stretches, but there have also been periods where it has advanced quickly – and the Black Caps will need that to be the case on day four.
Sri Lanka went from 281-5 to 305 all out in their first innings late on day one and early on day two, while New Zealand went from 261-4 to 340 all out early on day three, blowing an opportunity to create pressure with a big first-innings lead.
Glenn Phillips hit four sixes while batting with O’Rourke for the final wicket to give them a small advantage, but it barely made amends for the way his partnership with Mitchell ended.
After hitting the ball into the off-side, Phillips called Mitchell through for a tight single that proved too tight in the end, sending the set batter on his way for 57.
The Black Caps then lost their next three wickets before moving past Sri Lanka’s total, but O’Rourke managed to hang around long enough for Phillips to deliver a few lusty blows.
O’Rourke then struck in his second over as New Zealand returned to the field, with captain Tim Southee taking a flying one-handed catch to send Pathum Nissanka on his way for two.
But while that had the Black Caps’ tails up at lunch, it would be more than three hours before they found success again.
Their best chance came in the final half-hour, when Mitchell Santner found Dhanajaya’s edge, but Mitchell couldn’t grab a sharp catch diving to his left at first slip.
Phillips came close to trapping Mathews LBW in the following over, which turned out to be the last of the day, but his review of a not-out decision was unsuccessful, with the ball hitting but the impact on the batter’s pad deemed to be up to the umpire’s call.
