New Zealand celebrate after whitewashing Sri Lanka 2-0
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
New Zealand batsman Kane Williamson scored his fifth century of the year to lead his side to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka on the fourth day of the second Test in Hamilton.
Requiring just 47 runs to win at the beginning of the day, Williamson and BJ Watling mopped up the runs with an unbeaten 47-run partnership, during which Williamson scored his 13th Test century.
Williamson finished on 108 off 164 balls, which included 12 boundaries and a six, while Watling remained undefeated on 13 off 36 deliveries, which included two boundaries.
Williamson raises his bat after scoring his 13th Test century
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Dushmantha Chameera was the pick of the bowler with four wickets, while Suranga Lakmal claimed one.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was disappointed with his side’s performance, and said: “I thought we had a chance, we made a mockery out of our batting in the second innings. The character the boys showed, specially Dushmatha Chameera was simply amazing. When you travel overseas and play in different conditions, you have to learn quickly. Credit to Black Caps, we put them under a lot of pressure on the first two days. There is talent in our side, it’s a young side.”
New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum was thrilled to have whitewashed Sri Lanka 2-0, and said: “Hard fought, the improvement from Sri Lanka was pretty obvious. We said they had an underrated bowling line up and this Test showed that. Thankfully for us we were able to withstand it from an innings of sheer quality from the king. Really good achievement for us, from the bowlers as well. Bizzare day yesterday. Short pitched bowling became a weapon on a pitch with plenty of pace and bounce. At times, some of the shots weren’t good, but it was the result of the pressure put on by both bowling line-ups.
“I think the guys have got better and better as the season got on. We were short of a gallop in Australia, but our bowling group is world class. Just about making sure we can bowl in partnerships and do well. Tim’s great, Doug has done really well, Trent and Wags have combined really well as well.”
Williamson was named Man of the Match, and said: “Was an interesting surface, Sri Lanka’s bowlers put us under a lot of pressure and we learned from them. It’s important to come up with a clear gameplan that you can stick to. Slightly different style of day. Lot of credit to our bowlers, specially taking 20 wickets in Dunedin. Credit to Sri Lanka as well for bouncing back. It is always a little green here, it’s needed to last the duration of five days. It was unique in that it had a little more bounce, steepling bounce which is why the short-ball theory was used by both teams. But if you looked to play yourself in, it’s good as well.
“I think I speak on behalf of most international cricketers that you don’t really look at years. You just look at the next tour, adapt and contribute to the team performance. Very difficult to look at those things.”