Potent Patel leads Black Caps charge

Ajaz Patel helped the Black Caps overcome a nagging sense of deja vu to wrestle back control on day two of the first test against Sri Lanka.

One wicket before tea, and a flurry afterwards, halted what looked to be an uncanny replica of a partnership late last year, with Sri Lanka slumping to 170-7 in response to New Zealand’s 249, midway through the final session.

The hosts were superbly poised at 143-2 after Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews threatened a repeat of their feats in Wellington in December. There, they batted for over an entire day, adding an unbroken 274 as the Black Caps bowlers had no answers.

That was to save a test match, but last night, it looked like they were about to put Sri Lanka in a winning position. The pair joined forces at 66-2, and batted comfortably for 24 overs, with Mendis bringing up his 50.

Then, a ball later, he departed, trying to drive Patel in the last over before tea, but getting an edge through to Ross Taylor at slip. Four balls after that, when play resumed after the break, Kusal Perera received a short ball from Trent Boult. He wasn’t sure whether to play or leave, and eventually did neither, and the ball cannoned off his bat and straight to point.

Patel then removed Dhananjaya de Silva and Mathews to claim a fivewicket bag – a performance that put the Black Caps right back in the test, after they had collapsed early on day two.

Resuming at 203-5, Taylor loomed as the vital batsman for New Zealand, unbeaten on 86 and looking to guide the tail order to a competitive total.

So, when Taylor was dismissed on the first ball he faced, needlessly flaying at a short and wide delivery from Suranga Lakmal, what followed was rather expected, with the Black Caps going down in a slew of disastrous dismissals, and none of the last five batsmen managing to reach 20.

After Akila Dananjaya took all the wickets to fall on day one, Lakmal claimed them all bar the runout on day two, finishing with 4-29 to put Sri Lanka in a strong position. The Black Caps lost their last seven wickets for 78, and while it was always possibly a competitive score — this is a wicket that favours bowlers, and Galle is notoriously hard to bat on in the fourth innings — it required a strong Black Caps bowling display.

Patel produced what was required, removing both Sri Lankan openers and taking three more key scalps as the Black Caps remarkably stole back the ascendancy.