NZ vs SL: Angelo Mathews Goes Past Sanath Jayasuriya's Record; Becomes Third Sri Lankan To Score 7000 Test Runs
Published - 09 Mar 2023, 01:38 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:15 AM
After Sri Lanka made a strong start in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch, veteran batsman Angelo Mathews passed former captain Sanath Jayasuriya to become only the third Sri Lankan to reach 7000 Test runs.
In Basin Reserve, Angelo Mathews made a crucial 47 on the first day, helping Sri Lanka reach 305/6 at the close of play in order to maintain their tenuous chance of competing against Australia in the June ICC World Test Championship final.
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Angelo Mathews Goes Past Sanath Jaysuriya’s Record Of 6973 Runs
Sri Lanka gave themselves the best chance possible on Thursday when Black Caps captain Tim Southee ordered them to bat first. To advance to the World Test Championship decider, Sri Lanka needs to sweep the Kiwis 2-0 in New Zealand and depend on India losing to Australia in the concurrent Test in Ahmedabad.
Oshada Fernando was removed by Southee in the seventh over, giving the home team an early advantage. But, Kusal Mendis (87) and the opposition’s captain Dimuth Karunaratne (50) quickly regained control with a century partnership for the second wicket.
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Mendis was caught lbw by Southee (3/44) just as the little hitter was approaching his ninth Test century, and Karunaratne quickly followed as New Zealand made a valiant comeback.
However, Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal (39), who were together for an 82-run partnership, broke Jayasuriya’s Test record of 6973 runs before the former was removed by Matt Henry soon after reaching his 7000th Test run.
Throughout the day, Southee also achieved a personal milestone. With 362 Test victories, the right-armer surpassed Sir Richard Hadlee (431) and drew even with veteran spinner Daniel Vettori in terms of New Zealand’s all-time wicket total.
As the day’s light waned, Dhananjaya de Silva (39*) and Kasun Rajitha (16*) scored some additional late runs for Sri Lanka. The pair will return to the field on day two, when they will undoubtedly be eager to score more runs to increase their lead.
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