Daryl Mitchell & Blair Tickner led New Zealand’s comeback against Sri Lanka

• Daryl Mitchell & Blair Tickner led New Zealand’s comeback against Sri Lanka.
• The Christchurch Test saw Sri Lanka take the lead after the first two days.
• Sri Lanka had destroyed the New Zealand top order.

New Zealand’s first Test match against Sri Lanka on Saturday was turned around by Daryl Mitchell’s tenacious century, Matt Henry’s scorching 72, and Blair Tickner’s three-wicket haul.

The Christchurch Test saw Sri Lanka take the lead after the first two days, but by the time day three’s play came to a close, they had a 65-run advantage and were 83 for three in their second innings.

Naveed Nawaz, the assistant coach for Sri Lanka, said that New Zealand had “swung the game to their side”.

Nawaz predicted Sri Lanka would need at least 200 more runs while Angelo Mathews was still in at the crease with two on the board and Prabath Jayasuriya was not out at 20.

He said, “Daryl Mitchell and Matt Henry, the partnership, took the game away from us,”

“But we have to back ourselves that a couple of our batsmen will go in there and get stuck in and get some big runs to swing the game back to our side.

“Its a good wicket to bat on and gives a little bit to the fast bowlers still so I suppose anything above 275-300 would be a good score.”

Before to that, New Zealand battled back from 151 for five to be all out for 373 with an 18-run advantage, thanks to a tenacious 102 from Mitchell and Henry’s gallant innings that contained 58 runs from boundaries.

In the 38 overs remaining before stumps, Tickner captured the wickets of skipper Dimuth Karunaratne for 17, Oshada Fernando for 28, and Kusal Mendis for 14, finishing with three wickets for 28 runs off 10 overs.

Sri Lanka had destroyed the New Zealand top order. They needed to sweep the two-Test series to maintain their chances of reaching the World Test Championship final.

But Mitchell, who has repeatedly saved New Zealand in his 17-Test career, wouldn’t yield as he labored through 193 bowling attempts to reach his eighth century.

The son of former All Blacks player and coach John Mitchell, the right-handed pitcher, age 31, raised his impressive batting average to 58 over the course of 25 innings.

With with Michael Bracewell, Tim Southee, and Henry, he added 54 runs for the sixth wicket.

After Mitchell reached his century, he celebrated by leaping into the air, waving his bat, and hugging Henry. Only two runs were added before he was caught behind by Lahiru Kumara, leaving New Zealand with a 291-8 lead.

After that, Henry erupted with a 72, a personal best that included 10 fours and three sixes.

With scoring 17 runs in just one over, he effectively shut down the attack of spinner Dhananjaya de Silva.

Sri Lanka’s situation got worse when de Silva’s successor Kasun Rajitha gave Henry 24 runs in his first over.

Rajitha and Asitha Fernando both got movement early in the day on a third-day wicket that continued to provide assistance to the spinners.

The introduction of left-arm spinner Jayasuriya undid Bracewell, who had appeared to be the more composed of the New Zealand overnight pair.

When an appeal for lbw was denied despite evidence that height was a problem, Bracewell had a chance to save his innings. But, the following delivery, Jayasuriya found an edge, and Bracewell was caught behind for 25.

Southee sent Jayasuriya over the midwicket fence to help New Zealand reach 200. He continued to swing until the third over with the new ball, when Kumara at square leg took a diving catch to dismiss him.

After hitting back-to-back fours from Rajitha, the New Zealand captain attempted a third, but it proved unsuccessful, and he was dismissed for 25 off 20 deliveries.

Fernando had the best stats for Sri Lanka with four for 85, and Kumara had three for 76.

Neil Wagner’s health was a concern for New Zealand because he had to leave the field during the last session to receive treatment for a leg injury.

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