New Zealand vs. Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 1: All Square as Mathews Leads the Way
It's honours even after the opening day of the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, with the visitors reaching 264 for the loss of seven wickets on a seam-friendly surface.
Things would have been even better for the Sri Lankans had they not lost three wickets in the space 13 balls shortly before rain ended play prematurely.
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Despite those late dismissals, decent knocks from Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana ensured both sides will be pleased with their day's work.
Let's take a look at the takeaways from the opening three sessions and try to predict what tomorrow may hold.
Green top
The green-tinged Hamilton wicket which greeted the players in the morning made the captains' decision at the toss redundant.
And much to Mathews' chagrin, he knew Sri Lanka would have to face an interrogation by seam as soon as the coin came down in favour of Brendon McCullum.
However, despite the surface being seemingly tailor-made for their bowling, the Black Cap seamers struggled to find the right lines to fully exploit the conditions.
If Sri Lanka's attack can succeed where the Kiwis failed, they could find themselves with a healthy first-innings lead.
Go slow Sri Lanka
In the opening Test at Dunedin, Sri Lanka batted for 50.4 overs more than New Zealand in total but still proceeded to lose by the significant margin of 122 runs.
This prompted Mathews to decry his team's pedestrian scoring rate as one of the main reasons for defeat.
The message clearly got through as the Asian side played aggressively here, scoring at a rate of 3.94 runs per over and managing to strike six maximums in the process.
Registering their runs at such a velocity means that, despite losing seven wickets, the Sri Lankans already have what may prove to be a decent total on the board.
Partners in crime
Two partnerships made significant contributions to this see-saw day of Test cricket.
Firstly, at 121 for four, Sri Lanka were stuttering and in danger of being rolled for a very low score. Until skipper Mathews and Siriwardana—in just his fourth Test—added 138 for the fifth wicket.
These valuable runs came at a good click from just 30 overs and, as the game progresses, they could prove to be a match-defining effort.
Secondly, Kiwi seamers Tim Southee and Trent Boult have long been one of the world's premier bowling duos, and their skills were on show here.
The former picked off both openers with his pleasing-on-the-eye swing bowling, while the latter's pace yielded two late wickets to bring New Zealand right back into the game.
Marathon man
When McCullum stepped out on to the field of play, it was his 99th consecutive Test appearance since he made his debut against South Africa in 2004. In other words, he hasn't missed a single New Zealand Test for over 11 years.
While Allan Border once managed to play 153 in a row, nobody has managed to maintain such a long run of consecutive appearances beginning with their debut.
How long can the bombastic Black Caps captain go on for?
What next?
It is still early days of course, but the first session of Day 2 will be key.
If New Zealand can take early wickets and skittle their opponents for a sub-300 score, they will have a chance to bat big and take control of the match.
However, if Sri Lanka bat through the morning then—given the seaming nature of the wicket—they will be in a strong position to give themselves a chance of a first-innings lead.
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