Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls struck double hundreds in a mammoth 363-run partnership as New Zealand stunned Sri Lanka’s hapless bowlers to declare at 580/4 and dominate the game on the second day of the second Test at the Basin Reserve here on Saturday. punished.
At stumps, Sri Lanka were 26/2, with Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell taking one wicket each. The visitors now face an uphill task of avoiding a clean sweep in the two-match series after losing a last-ball thriller by two wickets at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch last week.
The standout players in Saturday’s game were Williamson and Nicholls, who became the first partners from the New Zealand Test team to score double centuries in the same innings.
During his remarkable 215, Williamson became the first New Zealand player to reach the 8000 Test run mark. During the second Test against England in Wellington last month, Williamson became the highest run-scorer for New Zealand in Tests, surpassing former teammate Ross Taylor’s score of 7683 runs.
Williamson’s double century was also the sixth of his Test career, putting him at par with many greats such as Marvan Atapattu, Virender Sehwag, Javed Miandad, Younis Khan, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. Currently, only Virat Kohli (7) has more double centuries than Williamson among active players.
After a rain-ravaged first day, New Zealand displayed tremendous offensive intent from the get-go on the second day. Boundaries were flowing off the bats of Williamson and Nicholls as the duo put on a batting clinic unfazed by both the pace and spin of the Sri Lankan bowlers.
The pair added 149 runs in the first session of the day as Williamson completed 8000 runs and his 28th Test century in four overs. Nicholls was not to be outdone as he brought up his century in the post-lunch session with the full flow of the Kiwi attack.
In just the second over after tea, Williamson brought up his double hundred with a boundary – exactly as he did to bring up his 50 and 100 on the day. Sri Lanka’s agony finally came to an end when Prabhat Jayasuriya dismissed Williamson and ended the marathon 363-run partnership.
Nicholls then continued to attack the Sri Lankan bowlers and brought up his maiden Test double century in only 240 balls. This was the 18th time in Test cricket and the first time for New Zealand that two batsmen scored double centuries in the same innings.
New Zealand declared at 580/4 as Nicholls achieved his milestone and then took a quick lead with the ball, leaving Sri Lanka at 26/2 at stumps on day two, captain Dimuth Karunaratne unbeaten at the crease Were.
Brief scores: New Zealand 580/4 dec (Kane Williamson 215, Henry Nicholls 200 not out) lead Sri Lanka at 26/2 by 554 runs.
(This report has been published as part of an auto-generated syndicated wire feed. No edits to the title or body have been made by ABP Live.)
