Twitter Reactions: Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry script brilliant comeback against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval

New Zealand (Photo source: Twitter)

After a rough couple of days in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, the Tim Southee-led side bounced back and made a brilliant comeback in the match. Daryl Mitchell, who has been sensational in recent times, once again rose up to the occasion and smashed a scintillating century to pull New Zealand out of the troubles. Matt Henry too supported him well as the Black Caps took an 18-run lead after the first innings.

Notably, the home side lost the wicket of Tom Blundell early in the day and with that, they were under a lot of pressure. However, the lower order showed a lot of grit and courtesy of which, New Zealand are currently in a better position than they were after Day 2. Interestingly, batting at number 9, Henry played counter-attacking cricket, which actually helped the Black Caps establish their authority in the match. The 31-year-old smacked 72 off 75 deliveries and based on his innings, the home side is in a comfortable position.

Meanwhile, the Lankan Lions didn’t start well with the bat. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, who were brilliant with the bat in the first innings of the match, got dismissed rather early while Oshada Fernando once again failed to justify his potential.

Currently, the veteran Angelo Matthew is batting alongside Prabath Jayasuriya. The partnership is going to be very important for the visiting side as Sri Lanka are currently fighting for a place in the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC). In order to qualify, the Dimuth Karunaratne need to defeat New Zealand 2-0 and would have to hope that India will lose their fourth Test against Australia.

In the meantime, Sri Lanka currently are leading by 65 runs after Day 3 and needs to post at least 250+ runs in order to keep the Tim Southee-led side under pressure. Blair Tickner, who recently made his Test debut against England, picked up all three wickets in the second innings and will be a key player for New Zealand on Day 4.

Here’s how Twitter reacted –