New Zealand’s left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel brought his appetite all the way from the Surrey Championship to Sri Lanka, and wrested the first test back his team’s way in a stunning spell on day two on Thursday.
Nine months on from his man of the match debut in Abu Dhabi, Patel snared his second test five-wicket bag (5-76 off 29) to engineer a spectacular Sri Lankan collapse of 5-18 either side of tea.
At stumps the hosts were 227-7 after some late resistance from Niroshan Dickwella and Suranga Lakmal, the Black Caps leading by a mere 22 heading into day three with a gripping contest beckoning.
The lead was nowhere near what New Zealand hoped for, having posted a skinny 249 after winning the toss at a ground where the bat-first teams won the last seven tests. But the Black Caps are a decent chance if they can set the hosts 200-plus on a crumbling surface, with both batting lineups looking rusty and prone to collapse in their World Test Championship opener.
New Zealand are yet to win a test at Galle International Stadium after heavy defeats in 1998, 2009 and 2012.
Patel, a three-time Plunket Shield top wicket-taker, wasn’t required for New Zealand since December after his starring role in that dream 2-1 series win against Pakistan.
When the domestic season ended he returned to Cranleigh Cricket Club in Surrey and tormented batsmen to the tune of 60 wickets at 9.27. He delayed his Sri Lanka arrival to play one more match in England, then snared five in 10 overs in the Black Caps’ solitary warmup in Colombo.
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