Trent Boult and Tim Southee led New Zealand's charge against Sri Lanka on day two of the rain-hit second Test in Colombo on Friday. The pacemen claimed two wickets each as Sri Lanka reached 144 for six at lunch when rain came down and no further play was possible. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne moved from his overnight 49 to score 65 and provided the only bit of resistance in the morning session, which saw 29.3 overs bowled.
Boult took two early wickets in one over after Sri Lanka resumed the day at 85 for two. Dhananjaya de Silva on 32 and Dilruwan Perera on five were at the crease. Southee, like Boult, also delivered a double-wicket maiden as the duo put on a superb display of seam bowling under overcast conditions.
Boult got overnight batsman Angelo Mathews caught behind for two to reach a landmark of 250 Test wickets - only the third Kiwi bowler to achieve the feat. Boult trapped Kusal Perera lbw for nought after just three balls as Sri Lanka slipped to 93-4 and would have been in further trouble had Boult held on to a simple catch from de Silva off his own bowling a few overs later.
"Today's a special day for Trent. He's become the third highest wicket-taker for New Zealand," New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen told reporters. "He's got great passion and energy which he brings to our team. I think the skill and execution and the way he's contributed to the team has been amazing." Karunaratne also got a lifeline on 61 when Kane Williamson could not grab a tough chance at short mid-wicket off Ajaz Patel.
SCOREBOARD
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Sri Lanka (overnight 85-2)
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D. Karunaratne c Watling b Southee 65
L. Thirimanne c Williamson b Somerville 2
K. Mendis c Watling b de Grandhomme 32
A. Mathews c Watling b Boult 2
K. Perera lbw b Boult 0
D. de Silva not out 32
N. Dickwella c Watling b Southee 0
D. Perera not out 5
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Extras: (b1, lb2, nb3) 6
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Total: (6 wkts, 66 overs) 144
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Did not bat: S. Lakmal, L. Embuldeniya, L. Kumara
Fall of wickets: 1-29 (Thirimanne), 2-79 (Mendis), 3-93 (Mathews), 4-93 (Perera), 5-130 (Karunaratne), 6-130 (Dickwella) Bowling: Boult 14-5-33-2, Southee 20-5-40-2, De Grandhomme 17-3-35-1 (nb3), Somerville 6-3-20-1, Patel 9-3-13-0
New Zealand: K. Williamson (capt), J. Raval, T. Latham, R. Taylor, H. Nicholls, BJ Watling, C. de Grandhomme, T. Southee, W. Somerville, A. Patel, T. Boult
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Michael Gough (AUS) and Bruce Oxenford (AUS)
TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM).
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