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SL win 2 - 0 SL gains 14 points; NZ loses 14 points
Draw 1 - 1 NZ gains 1 points; SL loses 1 points
NZ win 2 - 0 NZ gains 16 points; SL loses 16 points
Napier
04 - 08 April 2005
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat first.� After the early loss of Cumming (12) at 1 for 35, New Zealand settled and batted through to lunch without further loss.� After lunch, Sri Lanka continued to struggle in the field with Muralitharan absent due to injury.� After a century partnership, the Marshall twins were split when James (52) was caught at 2 for 142.� However, that was Sri Lanka's only wicket during the session.� After tea, Sri Lanka dismissed Fleming (16) at 3 for 187 before Hamish Marshall went on to post his second Test century.� New Zealand then batted through until bad light stopped play with the score at a comfortable 3 for 267.
Sri Lanka needed to crash through the middle order on the second morning to keep the Kiwi total to a minimum.� After a solid first hour, Sri Lanka caught Hamish Marshal (160) and Vincent (0) in the space of five balls to have New Zealand 5 for 317.� However, Sri Lanka then dropped McCullum soon afterwards and then New Zealand batted through to be well placed at lunch with 5 for 379.� After Astle posted his tenth Test century, Sri Lanka had him caught for 114 at 6 for 446 and soon afterwards, McCullum (99) was trapped in front at 7 for 487.� However, New Zealand then batted through to tea without further loss of wickets.� Sri Lanka finally dismissed Mills (4), Wiseman (27) and Franklin (55) to have New Zealand all out for 561 runs half way though the evening session.� Malinga was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 130 off 35 overs.� Sri Lanka then faced a difficult twelve over session before bad light ending the day with the score no wicket for 48, and Sri Lanka needing a further 314 runs to avoid the follow on.
New Zealand struggled in the first hour before Jayasuriya (48) was trapped and Sangakkara (5) was bowled either side of the drinks break for Sri Lanka to be 2 for 101.� Sri Lanka then resettled and batted through to lunch without further loss.� Sri Lanka batted through the afternoon session without losing a wicket while adding another 130 runs.� Atapattu also posted his 16th Test century to completing the set of a century against all nine Test opponents.� Shortly after tea, Atapattu (127) was finally caught at 3 for 285.� However, New Zealand was unable to make any further breakthroughs and after Jayawardene posted his 13th Test century, bad light again ended play early with Sri Lanka 3 for 351, only 210 runs in arrears.
Sri Lanka batted for an hour before Jayawardene (141) was caught behind at 4 for 407 and Dilshan (28) followed at 5 for 452 just before Sri Lanka went to lunch.� New Zealand gathered momentum after lunch, dismissing Samaraweera (88), Vaas (17), Herath (0), Kulasekara (0) and Chandana (19) in the space of 35 runs to have Sri Lanka all out for 498 runs at tea.� Martin (4 for 132 off 37 overs) and Franklin (4 for 126 off 32.1 overs) shared the bowling honours.� With a lead of 63 runs, New Zealand sedately added 65 runs in 30 overs for the loss of Cumming (16) and Hamish Marshall (6).� At stumps, New Zealand was clearly not interested in forcing a result with an overall lead of 127 runs.
Sri Lanka began the final day needing quick wickets to have any hope of forcing a result.� Their hopes were raised after night watchman Wiseman (0), James Marshall (39), Astle (19), McCullum (7) and Franklin (7) were dismissed to see New Zealand 7 for 148 at lunch, with a lead of only 211 runs.� However, New Zealand then managed to occupy the crease through most of the afternoon session while Vincent (52), Mills (22) and Fleming (41) were dismissed.� New Zealand was all out for 238 runs, leaving Sri Lanka an impossible target of 302 runs from a maximum 27 overs at eleven runs per over.� Malinga was the best of the bowlers with 5 for 80 off 24.4 overs, his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests.� As it turned out, Sri Lanka faced just nine balls after tea before bad light stopped play, with the score 0 for 7 and the match was then declared a draw.
Second Test
Wellington
11 - 14 April 2005
New Zealand again won the toss, but this time elected to field first.� The decision paid dividends in the first hour, with Atapattu (0), Sangakkara (16), Jayawardene (1) and Jayasuriya (22) out in the space of 41 runs.� Sri Lanka then consolidated, however, just before going to lunch, Dilshan (9) was caught behind to leave the tourists in a precarious position at 5 for 65.� Sri Lanka picked up the scoring pace after lunch while New Zealand dismissed Kalavitigoda (7) and Vaas (5) in the hour after lunch.� Sri Lanka then batted through to tea to be 7 for 161.� New Zealand dismissed Chandana (41), Maharoof (12) and Samaraweera (73) in the hour after tea to have Sri Lanka all out for disappointing 211 runs.� Martin was the best of the bowlers with 6 for 54 off 20 overs, sixth five-wicket haul in Tests.� New Zealand then faced eleven overs before bad light stopped play with the score no wicket for 52.�
Sri Lanka began the fight to drag themselves back into the match on the second morning after Vaas dismissed James Marshall (28) and Hamish Marshall (6) to have New Zealand 2 for 70.� However, New Zealand then settled and Sri Lanka was unable to capitalise on their early breaks.� At lunch, New Zealand was 2 for 134, only 77 runs in arrears.� Vaas Lanka again made a double breakthrough after the break, dismissing Cumming (47) and Astle (0) in consecutive balls to have New Zealand 4 for 153.� But again, New Zealand settled and batted through the rest of the session to be 4 for 210 at tea, just one run in arrears.� New Zealand changed the pattern in the final session, batting slowly through 24 overs before bad light stopped play with the score 4 for 253 and a lead of 42 runs.
After half an hour on the third day, rain swept in and delayed play with the score 4 for 279.� Play later resumed and Vaas again dismissed Fleming (88) and McCullum (0) in consecutive balls to have New Zealand 6 for 294, just before rain again intervened.� Upon returning for less than an over, Vass again failed to take the hat trick and when rain forced an early lunch, the score was 6 for 296.� The rain stopped over the lunch break and after Vincent posted his third Test century, Malinga broke Vaas' six wicket sequence when he trapped Franklin (15) in front with the score 7 for 342.� Late in the session, Mills (31) was caught before New Zealand went to tea at 8 for 462, with a lead of 251 runs.� Sri Lanka had great difficulty removing the final two batsmen and eventually ran out Vincent (224) at 9 for 499 before Fleming declared at 9 for 522.� Wiseman (34*) and Martin (47*) were the not out batsmen while Vaas was the best of the bowlers with 6 for 108 off 40 overs, his tenth five-wicket haul in Tests.� Facing a deficit of 311 runs, Sri Lanka was left to face seven overs before bad light stopped play, with the score 1 for 10 after Jayasuriya (2) was bowled in the third over.
New Zealand adopted a patient approach on the fourth morning, knowing they had time and runs in hand to force a series winning result.� They dismissed Atapattu (16) and Maharoof (36) during the session to have Sri Lanka 3 for 106 at lunch, still 205 runs in arrears.� The pressure built during the afternoon session as Jayawardene (13), Sangakkara (45), Samaraweera (17) and Kalavitigoda (1) fell at regular intervals.� At tea, Sri Lanka was heading toward a large defeat with the score 7 for 191, still 120 runs in arrears.� The Sri Lankan tail wagged for an hour into the evening session, but then Dilshan (73), Chandana (8) and Vaas (38) were all bowled in the space of 18 runs to see Sri Lanka all out for 273 runs.� Franklin was the best of the bowlers with 4 for 71 off 23.5 overs while New Zealand claimed victory by an innings and 38 runs.
