Tom Latham and Kane Williamson spearheaded New Zealand's resurgence with impressive half-centuries as the Black Caps managed to reach 255-4 on a rain-affected second day of their inaugural Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, trailing by 50 runs on Thursday.
Latham shone in favorable batting conditions after rain largely wiped out the morning session, scoring 70 off 111 balls. Williamson took the reins as the day progressed, crafting a solid 55 off 104 balls to set a robust foundation. Rachin Ravindra's brisk 39 was cut short by Sri Lanka's late strikes, which eased some pressure. However, Daryl Mitchell steered New Zealand to stumps with a steady 41 not out, supported ably by Tom Blundell's unbeaten 18.
Sri Lanka, resuming at 302-7 following Kamindu Mendis's resilient 114 the previous day, lost early momentum as Ajaz Patel dismissed Prabath Jayasuriya for a duck before the first of two rain delays. The hosts added just three more runs to their overnight total, with New Zealand pace bowler William O'Rourke returning after the interruption to claim the final two wickets and finish with figures of 5-55.
Sri Lanka struggled to stem the flow of runs in sunny conditions post-lunch. Latham smoothly reached his 29th Test half-century after Devon Conway was dismissed lbw by Ramesh Mendis, seemingly against the run of play. Latham departed at tea, making a rare error while sweeping and being superbly caught by substitute Sadeera Samarawickrama off Jayasuriya. Williamson, unfazed by the end of their 73-run stand, partnered excellently with Ravindra en route to his own fifty but top-edged a delivery from Dhananjaya de Silva to wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis. Skipper De Silva struck again in his next over, bowling Ravindra after the batsman misjudged the line of the ball, to pull his team back into the match at 196-4. However, Sri Lanka failed to make further inroads.
