GALLE, Sri Lanka — Seamer Tim Southee spearheaded a great fightback by New Zealand on day two of the first Test against Sri Lanka to leave the match fascinatingly poised Sunday. Southee's four for 46 was crucial in helping restrict the home side to a first-innings lead of 26 as it was bowled out for 247. Although New Zealand then lost Brendon McCullum (13) in its second innings, it was still able to close on 35 for one - a lead of nine. Southee started the day with a burst of three for 18 from seven overs and with Trent Boult (two for 46) at the other end providing excellent support, Sri Lanka was reduced to 50 for five having resumed at nine for one. The Kiwis made 221 first up. “We were disappointed with our batting in the first innings and we knew the bowlers had to step up to get us back into the game,” Southee told reporters. The fact Sri Lanka was able to secure a lead was due almost entirely to an outstanding partnership of 156 for the sixth wicket between captain Mahela Jayawardene (91) and his deputy Angelo Mathews (79). Jayawardene, who became the second player after former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming to top 1,000 runs in Tests between the two sides, hit 11 fours and a six during a stay of 176 balls. He was eventually dismissed gloving an attempted sweep off-spinner Jeetan Patel (three for 55), well caught by the tumbling Kruger van Wyk behind the stumps. It was the sixth time Jayawardene has been dismissed in the 90s in Tests but he still had the satisfaction of extending his remarkable record at Galle, where he has scored 2,284 of his 10,631 Test runs. Mathews faced 154 balls and hit 12 fours and a six before edging a loose drive to become James Franklin's first Test wicket since April 2009. The sixth wicket stand occupied 49 overs and was in stark contrast to the chaos of the first hour of proceedings when wickets tumbled at regular intervals. Once Mathews was dismissed the innings subsided meekly with the final five wickets falling for 41 runs. — Reuters
