New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips provided a glimmer of hope for his side with two wickets in the first session, but Sri Lanka’s batting dominance continued on the second day of the second Test.
Kamindu Mendis and Dananjaya de Silva extended Sri Lanka’s strong start, adding 74 runs for the fourth wicket before de Silva was caught off a top-edged sweep at lunch. Earlier, Phillips had dismissed Angelo Mathews in a similar fashion, leaving both batters just short of personal milestones.
Mendis, in typical form, was seven runs away from his fifth Test century in just seven matches. He remained cautious throughout the session, while de Silva played aggressively, including a lofted six off Phillips and several reverse sweeps.
Phillips, bowling for New Zealand, troubled the Sri Lankan batters with his offspin, creating drift and forcing Mendis to survive an LBW review against the arm ball. While Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner were also in the attack, Mendis and de Silva appeared relatively comfortable against them on a pitch that offered little assistance.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 402/5 (Dinesh Chandimal 116, Kamindu Mendis 93* Angelo Matthews 88; Glenn Phillips 3-55) vs New Zealand
