Mitchell ton; Henry blitz put New Zealand in control

(ESPNCRICINFO) – A Daryl Mitchell ton followed by a Matt Henry blitz put the hosts in pole position for the first time in the Christchurch Test, as New Zealand’s lower order wrestled control away from Sri Lanka on a riveting third day of play at the Hagley Oval. Blair Tickner further pressed home the advantage, picking up three wickets in the final session, as the visitors ended 65 runs ahead with seven wickets in hand; but the momentum still lay with the hosts.

Much of the damage was down to the efforts of Henry, whose 72 off only 75 balls from No. 9 knocked the wind out of Sri Lanka’s sails at a point when they might have been entertaining thoughts of obtaining a considerable first-innings lead. And like any good onslaught, Henry’s destructive cameo came about unexpectedly and brutally.

Seemingly catalysed by the wicket of Mitchell – who had fought his way to 102 from 193 deliveries – over the course of a subdued if not attritional day of cricket barring a brief period prior to lunch, Henry, having trundled to 20 off his first 45 deliveries, produced 52 off his next 30.

Dhananjaya de Silva’s off-breaks were the first to get the treatment, as two slogs over ‘cow corner’ for six were followed by a back-foot scythe through cover. That was just the entree, before Henry feasted off Kasun Rajitha a few overs later, taking the until-that-point miserly seamer for 24 in an over, which included five consecutive boundary blows, including a monumental straight six.

By the time Henry fell – courtesy of a yorker from Asitha Fernando – New Zealand’s deficit had instead transformed into a five-run lead. Henry’s heroics almost obscured Neil Wagner at the other end, who scored 27 off 24 balls in the process. To add to all of that, Tim Southee’s quickfire 25 from 20 deliveries meant New Zealand’s last four added a decisive 126 runs off 124 balls after they were 188 for 6 at one stage, still 167 behind Sri Lanka’s first-innings total.

And prior to Henry’s devastating intervention, New Zealand’s gains had been steady if not exactly express. Leading the way was Mitchell. The first hour of play saw the Sri Lankan seamers being unable to replicate the consistency of the previous day, perhaps guilty of trying to force the issue; and Mitchell had a large role to play in this.