Sri Lanka awaits victory in the Galle Test. It seems they can’t wait any longer to secure the win in the Galle Test. The team is determined to defeat the Kiwis. Even after taking 13 wickets in one day, they aren’t satisfied! On the other hand, New Zealand is seeing nothing but disaster. Such a collapse is something they likely never imagined.
That the Kiwi team, composed of Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, and Devon Conway, would fail to reach a three-figure total feels like a nightmare. But in Galle, that nightmare haunted New Zealand. They were bowled out for just 88 runs.
Starting the third day on Saturday at 22 runs for 2 wickets, Sri Lanka could only add 66 more runs. Santner, coming in at number nine, scored the highest with 29 runs. Daryl Mitchell’s 13 was the second-highest score. No other batsman could reach double digits.
Prabath Jayasuriya took 6 wickets, and Nishan Peiris claimed 3, leaving the Kiwis in shambles. This gave Sri Lanka a lead of 514 runs in the first innings.
Following on, New Zealand came to bat in their second innings but didn’t perform well, losing 5 wickets for 121 runs. It was assumed that a Sri Lankan victory on Galle’s spinning wicket was only a matter of time.
However, Tom Blundell and Glenn Phillips defied that assumption, forming a 78-run partnership and prolonging the wait. Rain also came to their aid. When the scoreboard showed 199 for 5 wickets, rain interrupted the game.
Ultimately, no more play was possible. About 20 overs of the third day’s play remained when the game was called off. Blundell was unbeaten on 47, while Phillips remained not out on 32. New Zealand still trails by 315 runs.
It can be said that if the weather cooperates on the fourth day, victory will be within Sri Lanka’s grasp, possibly by an innings margin. If that happens, Sri Lanka will make history by winning their first Test series against New Zealand in nearly a decade and a half.
