Chandimal, Mathews punish sloppy New Zealand to make it Sri Lanka's day

Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal added 97 for the third wicket  •  AFP/Getty Images

Galle, September 26:

 Sri Lanka 306 for 3 (Chandimal 116, Mathews 78*, Kamindu 51*, Phillips 1-33) vs New Zealand

A trademark and enterprising century from Dinesh Chandimal led Sri Lanka's charge towards a big score after winning the toss, making New Zealand rue multiple lapses in the field on the opening day in Galle. Chandimal's 16th Test century saw him switch gears across the first two sessions to help the hosts finish on a commanding 306 for 3, helped by unbeaten half-centuries from Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis.

New Zealand could have picked more than three wickets in the day had Daryl Mitchell not put down two catches at first slip, Tom Blundell not missed Dimuth Karunartne's stumping, and William O'Rourke not overstepped when he had Mathews caught behind. It was Chandimal's chanceless innings, however, that hurt the visitors the most. He continued his fine form by raising his his sixth hundred in Galle and his fourth 50-plus score in eight Test innings while been batting at No. 3, out of his usual position in the middle order, to accommodate the younger batters Kamindu at No. 5 and Kusal Mendis at No. 7.

The only thing that went New Zealand's way was the early wicket of Pathum Nissanka who edged an outswinger from Tim Southee behind at the end of the first over. Chandimal took on the fast bowlers when the new ball was still swinging around to set a base for his team quickly, and once the ball got older and conditions eased out for batting with the sun beating down nicely, the hosts piled on the runs.

Tom Blundell missed a stumping chance of Dimuth Karunaratne•AP

Karunaratne was the beneficiary of two lives; first dropped at slip on 5, off O'Rourke, and then he survived a stumping chance on 17 when he came down to attack Ajaz Patel and took a big swing but missed. Chandimal was also edging the ball a few times early on against the pace bowlers but that didn't deter him from going for his shots. He got off the mark with a fierce scythe that crashed the ball to the deep-point boundary and then went over the covers against Southee's outswinger. He took on Ajaz's left-arm spin from around the wicket to score quick runs.

The most picture-perfect of his boundaries was against O'Rourke when he drove a full delivery on the up, square on the off side with a lot of power and impeccable timing. When he raced to 41 off 42, Southee brought on left-arm spin from both ends to stem the flow of runs before lunch and the tactic worked as Ajaz and Mitchell Santner bowled in tandem for 15 overs for 36 runs, with the odd ball turning sharply. A now-patient Chandimal was stuck on 49 for 13 balls before finally getting to the landmark on his 79th ball.

A brief spell of shower in the first hour pushed the lunch break from 12pm to 12.22pm and when play resumed, it was a fielding effort, aided by a mix-up, that ended the century partnership. Karunaratne flicked a ball from Santner to midwicket and ran all the way, but Chandimal barely left his crease. Glenn Phillips' throw from midwicket, meanwhile, reached short leg, and not the keeper, and Latham hit the stumps with an under-arm throw just in time to find the batter short.

New Zealand then handed a life to Mathews. When O'Rourke had to re-bowl the last ball of the 44th over because he had overstepped, he had Mathews tickling one down the leg side and saw the umpire's finger go up only to see the hand stretch stretch to the side seconds later. Mathews settled his nerves thereafter by patiently seeing off the spinners who stuck to tight lines and lengths with slightly flat trajectories.

Dinesh Chandimal, who recently had a baby, made 116•SLC

Chandimal, meanwhile, continued to drive the full deliveries through the covers, lofted the spinners down the ground when the field wasn't spread out and even got a bonus of four runs via overthrows to reach 95. He soon acknowledged his century with the rock-the-baby celebration having become a father in June. Mathews relied heavily on back-foot cuts and punches off the spinners by transferring his weight on the ball with his powerful arms and wrists. Chandimal fell soon after Mathews registered his 44th Test half-century, when he danced down and missed an offbreak to lose his off stump, a reward for Phillips for bowling tight lines through the day.

Luck continued to favour the hosts even in the last session. Kamindu, the centurion from the first Test, edged his seventh and eighth deliveries in almost identical fashion off Southee not long before the second new ball was taken, but on both occasions the ball flew through the gap between Blundell and wide slip. After being dropped by Mitchell at slip off O'Rourke, which was after the new ball was taken, Kamindu started a flurry of boundaries that started with a slog-swept six off Ajaz in the next over and saw three more fours in quick succession to bring up his 53-ball half-century.

O'Rourke used his height and bounce to also draw an edge off the splice of Matthews' bat late in the day, but when the ball only kissed Tom Latham's fingertips before going for four, Latham's wry smile summed up New Zealand's day.