NZ vs SL 2nd Test: Tim Southee-led New Zealand will take on Sri Lanka in the second Test of the two-match. The Kiwis are 1-0 up in the series after winning the first Test at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. The second Test between the hosts and visitors is also very special from cricket history’s point of view as this will be the 2500th Test in the whole Test cricket history.
Test cricket to see its 2500th Test match
2,499 Tests have been contested so far in cricket history
1,711 different teams have registered victory
3,120 players have represented their nations
51,39,301 balls have been bowled
4,390 centuries have been scored
24,73,523 runs have been made overall
3,184 bowlers have also recorded fifers in the 77,314 wickets that have been taken in Test cricket
India legend Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of hitting the most centuries in Test cricket whereas Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan is the top wicket-taker in Tests with 800 scalps. Coming back to the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka, the hosts will be looking to clinch the series in Wellington after the narrow win in Christchurch. The visitors on the other hand will be looking to level the series. Sri Lanka fared decently in the first Test match, but it was former New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson’s heroics that snatched the game away from the visitors.
New Zealand won the 1st Test by two wickets
The first Test match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand was clearly balanced and was never one-sided affair. Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, and Dhananjaya de Silva’s crucial runs propelled Sri Lanka’s first-innings total to 355.
New Zealand also lost three early wickets when they came out to bat, and it looked as if it would be easy for Sri Lanka to take a healthy lead in the first innings. However, Daryl Mitchell’s century and Matt Henry’s 72nd over helped the Kiwis edge past their opponents in the first innings. New Zealand’s first innings ended at 373.
Sri Lanka in reply, cored 302 runs in the second innings and assigned a target of 284 for New Zealand to chase. At the end of Day 4, New Zealand had lost one wicket and needed 257 runs to win. As the first session of 5th day was completely washed out, the Kiwis still fancied their chances of winning the match. Daryl Mitchell’s late acceleration to the innings might have forced a draw but it Williamson’s genius that sealed the game in his team’s favour.
