New Delhi: Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls scored double centuries and took New Zealand to 580/4 before they declared. After winning a thriller game in the first Test, the Blackcaps have a total grip on the game. After Williamson and Nicholls posted mammoth runs, Matt Henry and Doug Bracewell managed to pick a wicket each to push Sri Lanka to 26/2.
Not only did the Kiwi batters put runs on the board, but they also did it at a great pace with a run rate of 4.71. After Devon Conway’s 78 on day 1, Williamson and Nicholls took the momentum forward.
Williamson and Nicholls had a 363-run stand between them and they became the first pair of New Zealand batters to score double centuries in a single inning. Though they scored runs at a good pace, their shots were risk-free and more of playing cuts and drives and finding the gaps.
Williamson scored 215 off 296 deliveries before hitting a lofted shot off Prabhat Jayasuriya, which landed in Ramesh Mendis’ hands at long-on. He hit 23 fours and two sixes in his immaculate inning. After scoring a match-winning ton in the last game, the Kiwi stalwart has given his fans another inning to remember.
Henry Nicholls went not out on 200 off 240 balls as he hit 15 fours and four sixes in the course of his knock. He scored his century off 173 balls and took 67 more to reach the double ton. The batters surely made the Sri Lankan bowlers scratch their heads as not only they could pick a wicket, but also they were not able to control the runs.
With Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis departed, Sri Lanka will need a similar inning from captain Dimuth Karunaratne and last match’s centurion Angelo Mathews.
