Dinesh Chandimal's 16th century helped Sri Lanka dominate a careless New Zealand by 306-3 to begin the second test on Thursday at their Galle fortress.
Chandimal was supported well by Angelo Mathews, 78 not out, Kamindu Mendis, 51 not out, and Dimuth Karunaratne's 46.
Sri Lanka and England share the record for the most test wins at a single venue, 25, at Galle and Lord’s respectively. And Sri Lanka has made a great start to surpassing England's tally.
Chandimal and Karunaratne combined for 122 for the second wicket until a mix up saw Karunaratne run out. He hit to square leg and attempted a quick single after a misfield but was sent back by Chandimal and didn't make it. Chandimal said he apologized back in the changing room.
Chandimal remained composed, going on to score his first test hundred against New Zealand and his sixth in Galle. Only Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, with seven centuries each, have scored more at the iconic ground.
Chandimal and Mathews added 97 runs for the third wicket before Glenn Phillips broke through. Chandimal, who had been using his footwork expertly against spin, misjudged the off-spinner and was bowled while attempting another aggressive shot. His 116 came off 208 balls, featuring 15 boundaries.
He batted from the second over. He was promoted for this series from No. 3 to No. 5 and scored 61 in the first test.
“They wanted to balance the side,” he said of the move up the order. “I accepted the challenge and it feels good to score a hundred. It's not easy facing the new ball. I tried to be positive and glad it all went well, and we are in a good position now.”
The in-form Mendis joined Mathews and began to score with ease. Mendis finished the day unbeaten on 51 from 56 balls, laced with eight boundaries and one towering six. In the past month, Mendis has three fifties and a first-test century.
Mathews, solid as ever, ended the day on 78 not out from 166 deliveries, with six boundaries. He passed 2,000 test runs in Galle.
The pair has 85 runs for the fourth wicket.
On a hot and humid day, New Zealand’s bowlers toiled. Their efforts were hampered by some poor fielding.
Daryl Mitchell dropped chances at slip, including one each for Karunaratne and Mendis. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell missed a stumping opportunity off Karunaratne. Mathews was caught down the leg side, only for the dismissal to be overturned due to William O'Rourke overstepping.
“Not the day we would have liked to walk away with,” Phillips said. “A couple of catches dropped and a few other chances gone begging. Sri Lanka made us pay. You have to really appreciate the effort the bowlers put in. It was very tough out there but they kept fighting. We generally are a very good fielding unit and we work hard at training. It is unusual.”
After winning the first test, also in Galle, Sri Lanka gave a test debut to off-spinner Nishan Peiris and brought in allrounder Milan Ratnayake. Lahiru Kumara and Ramesh Mendis were left out. New Zealand opted for an unchanged side.