Kane Williamson used all his experience to remain calm under pressure as New Zealand conjured up a remarkable victory for the second time in two weeks by chasing down a target of 285 runs on the final ball of the rain-shortened final day to beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in the first Test on Monday.
The dramatic win, which came on the back of the one-run victory over England after following on in Wellington, put the hosts 1-0 up in the two-match series and ended Sri Lanka’s hopes of playing in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Williamson played the leading role by notching up his 27th Test century in a beautifully-controlled inning of 121 not out after the first four-and-a-half hours of play at Hagley Oval had been washed out by rain.
The winning run came when the former captain and the injured Neil Wagner ran a bye, Williamson securing the victory by diving full length to get his bat down in the crease before a direct hit broke the stumps.
The Black Caps went into the final day on 28/1 needing 257 more runs for victory and, after the rain finally cleared, were allowed 52 overs in one extended session to achieve the task.
First-innings centurion Daryl Mitchell contributed 81 to a stand of 142 with Williamson for the fourth wicket that put victory within grasp but there were plenty of nervous moments before the win was finally secured with eight wickets down.
“We had someone like Kane at the crease, the guys were very trusting in what he was going to do,” said New Zealand captain Tim Southee.
“He’s just a world-class player and I think world-class players are able to perform in different conditions and different situations. Seeing him so calm in the middle kept us all calm on the sidelines.”
Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne said: “Unfortunately we were on the losing side but I think overall we did a really great job. As a captain, I’m really happy with the boys.”
Sri Lanka would have qualified for the WTC final if they had swept New Zealand 2-0 and Australia denied India victory in the ongoing fourth Test in Ahmedabad.
Written with inputs from Reuters
