Latham, Williamson half-tons take Kiwis to 255-4 in Sri Lanka

AFP | Galle

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Half-centuries from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson put New Zealand at 255-4 and in hot pursuit of Sri Lanka on day two of the first Test on Thursday. The Black Caps trailed by 50 at stumps in Galle with Daryl Mitchell (41) and Tom Blundell (18) to resume in the morning. No New Zealander has scored a Test century in Galle and both Williamson and Latham looked set to end that drought before falling against the run of play.

Their 73-run partnership steadied the reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings of 305 but ended when Latham fell before tea for 55, top-edging a sweep shot that was caught at backward square leg. World number two batter Willamson departed in the final session for 70 while trying to work Dhananjaya de Silva on the leg-side for a single, caught by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis. Aggressive sweep shots from the Kiwis foiled a concerted Sri Lankan spin attack and forced the hosts to spread the field.