26 Established 1961 Sports Wednesday, December 19, 2018 Mendis, Mathews defy NZ with epic stand to give S Lanka hope Sri Lanka still need a further 37 to avoid an innings defeat WELLINGTON: Angelo Mathews celebrated with less position with three wickets down for just 20 in push-ups on the pitch after joining Kusal Mendis in their second innings after conceding a first-innings passing 100 yesterday as Sri Lanka batted the whole deficit of 296 to New Zealand. day without losing a wicket to give themselves hope of Sri Lanka still need a further 37 to avoid an innings an unlikely first Test draw in Wellington. defeat but with a flat pitch offering nothing to New Mendis was 116 not out at stumps on day four and Zealand’s seam attack and rain threatening on the final Mathews 117, with their record-breaking unbroken day, a draw is now a real prospect. “Even tough it’s a 246-run partnership setting a Sri Lankan record belter of a wicket, the concentration and commitment against New Zealand. It was also the first time in New they had was unbelievable,” bowling coach Rumesh Zealand that a full day’s play has been completed with- Ratnayake said. out a Test wicket falling and the first time anywhere “We couldn’t have asked for anything more.” New since South Africa achieved the feat against Bangladesh Zealand had hoped to wrap up the match early on the in Chittagong in 2008. fourth day after posting an imposing 578 in the first The pair’s epic vigil meant the tourists ended the innings, anchored by Tom Latham’s unbeaten 264 — day at 259 for three after starting in a seemingly hope- which eclipsed former England captain Alastair Cook’s 244 as the highest score by an opener carrying their bat in Test history. SCOREBOARD But the home bowlers grew increasingly frustrated by the stubborn rearguard action, resorting to a bar- Scoreboard at stumps on day four of the first Test between rage of bouncers that failed to rattle the batsmen. New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Wellington yesterday: Spinner Ajaz Patel said the Black Caps had not played Sri Lanka 1st innings 282 (Mathews 83, Dickwella 80; poorly and were still upbeat about claiming victory on Southee 6-68) the final day. New Zealand 1st innings 578 (Latham 264 not out, Williamson 91; Kumara 4-127) “The positive thing for us is that we are the only team in a position to win the game. That’s great posi- Sri Lanka 2nd innings (overnight 20-3) tion for us to be in,” he said. M. Gunathilaka lbw Boult 3 Mathews sent the New Zealanders a defiant mes- F. Karunaratne c Boult b Southee 10 sage with his push-up celebration late in the final ses- D. de Silva b Southee 0 K. Mendis not out 116 sion that he still has plenty in the tank and is ready to bat on. Mendis, who made only two in the first innings, A. Mathews not out 117 WELLINGTON: New Zealand’s Tim Southee falls as he bowls during day four of the first Test cricket match Extras: (lb2, nb3, w8) 13 was also pumped up, saying he would bat for another Total: (for 3 wkts, 102 overs) 259 entire day if his team required it. between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in Wellington yesterday. — AFP Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Gunathilaka), 2-10 (de Silva), 3-13 The 23-year-old initially took a positive approach (Karunaratne) and went after short-ball specialist Neil Wagner. He crawl. “The plan was to bat out a lot of balls, rather off 215 deliveries. The partnership will be a huge boost To bat: D. Chandimal, N. Dickwella, D. Perera, S. Lakmal, K. blasted four boundaries off Wagner in an entertaining than focus on run-scoring,” he said through an inter- for Sri Lanka, who are ranked sixth in the world and Rajitha, L. Kumara period that saw the paceman concede 35 runs in four Bowling: Southee 20-6-36-2, Boult 21-3-50-1, Wagner 21-2- preter. have won only one Test in Wellington in five attempts. 100-0 (4w, 2nb), de Grandhomme 13-4-24-0 (1nb), Patel 26-8- overs before captain Kane Williamson ended his spell. Mathews, 31, who top-scored for Sri Lanka with 83 They have also lost their last five Tests against New 46-0, Raval 1-0-1-0. After the brief flourish with the bat, Mendis was in the first innings, eked out his ninth Test century off Zealand and suffered a 3-0 Test series whitewash content to put up the shutters and slow the scoring to a 248 balls, while Mendis brought up his sixth Test ton against England last month. — AFP Mystery Indian Pakistan seek batting form spinner stuns in SA tour opener JOHANNESBURG: Pakistan’s batsmen will seek form when they at IPL auction open their tour of South Africa with a three-day match against a South African Invitation XI at Willowmoore Park in Benoni today. It is the Little-known Indian mystery spinner JAIPUR: only game for the tourists before the first of three Tests starts in Varun Chakravarthy hit the jackpot at the Indian Centurion on December 26. Premier League auction yesterday after he was Pakistan twice suffered fourth-innings batting collapses in losing a snared for $1.2 million by Kings XI Punjab. recent Test series against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates. The price tag surprised pundits gathered at Both captain Sarfraz Ahmed and coach Mickey Arthur acknowledged Jaipur for the 2019 Twenty20 tournament auction, on arrival in South Africa that posting competitive totals was crucial if where the 27-year-old only had a base price of two they are to match the hosts in what is shaping as a battle between two million rupees ($28,400). After a fierce bidding war, teams with strong bowling attacks. the bowler emerged as the most expensive player in With the warm-up match clashing with the resumption of South this year’s sell-off along with Indian left-arm seamer Africa’s four-day franchise competition, the Invitation XI is drawn from Jaydev Unadkat, bagged by Rajasthan Royals for JAIPUR: COA Member Diana Edulji (L), Mumbai Indians owner Akash Ambani (C) and CEO Kolkata the country’s second-tier provincial competition. The opposition is the same price. Knight Riders (KKR) Venky Mysore (R) speak to the media at a press conference for the Indian unlikely to be especially challenging, but it is an opportunity for the “What a bid! Varun Chakaravarthy joins us for Premier League 2019 auction in Jaipur yesterday. —AFP Pakistanis to get used to local conditions at a ground just 60 kilome- the new season of IPL!” the Punjab franchise tweet- tres (37 miles) from the venue for the first Test. ed. Chakravarthy began playing cricket when he “What a fantastic buy. We all know what Carlos IPL debut. England’s rising star Sam Curran was Arthur, who coached South Africa from 2005 until 2010, told jour- was 13 but took up architecture after several rejec- did at Eden back in 2016! Everyone remembers the sold for one million dollars to Kings XI Punjab. His nalists he believed his young batsmen will cope better with conditions tions in age-group cricket. name!” KKR said on Twitter. That year, Brathwaite base price was $283,460. in South Africa than the low, slow pitches of the UAE. “There are some He later returned to the game, honing his skills as slammed four consecutive sixes to help West Indies Fellow Brit Jonny Bairstow won his first IPL con- very talented young batsmen there. They don’t stand on leg stump a spinner able to bowl both off and leg breaks, with win the World T20 final against England at the Eden tract, picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for $311,982. anymore. Our batsmen get to off stump, they cover the bounce, they quite a few tricks under his hat. More than 350 Gardens in Kolkata. The wicketkeeper-batsman had gone unsold in last cover the pace and they cover the swing.” players went under the hammer Tuesday, including KKR, led by India’s Dinesh Karthik, finished third year’s auction. “Delighted to be joining @SunRisers Even so, the Tests are likely to be a major challenge in a country 120 international cricketers, in what is the world’s in the IPL 2018. They have won the lucrative cham- for #IPL2019! Can’t wait to get started for the where Pakistan have won only two Tests while losing nine on five tours. wealthiest cricket league. pionship twice, in 2012 and 2014. Another West #OrangeArmy,” he wrote on Twitter South Africa’s bowling will be spearheaded by Kagiso Rabada and fit- West Indies players proved to be the top draw Indies heavy hitter Shimron Hetmyer was lapped up There were no takers though for New again Dale Steyn, although the hosts will be without the retired Morne among the foreigners, with big-hitter Carlos for $594,195 by Royal Challengers Bangalore. Zealand stars Brendon McCullum and Martin Morkel and Lungi Ngidi, who has a long-term injury. Brathwaite going for $707,150 to the Kolkata The 21-year-old, who impressed during the Guptill as well as Chris Woakes of England in the Vernon Philander is a serious doubt for the first Test because of a Knight Riders franchise owned by Bollywood super- recent West Indies tour of India, will be making his first round.