After enduring a torrid tour of Australia, Martin Guptill rediscovered his form on a pleasant batting day at University Oval, scoring his third Test hundred - his first after 40 innings since November 2011 - to put New Zealand in a strong position on the opening day of the series against Sri Lanka.
He had a brisk half-century stand with his opening partner Tom Latham and then put on a 173-run partnership at rapid pace with the ever-assured Kane Williamson, who pushed his average against Sri Lanka above 100. New Zealand were fuelled by 32 boundaries in 54.5 overs before tea, the batsmen capitalising on a bowling group that did not seem to have a plan for the conditions, and was loose with its lines and length through the day.
Angelo Mathews chose to bowl on a sunny morning in Dunedin, to give his seamers first use of any assistance in the pitch, and perhaps to protect his inexperienced batsmen from the potent swing of Tim Southee and Trent Boult, the leaders of New Zealand's four-pronged pace attack in this Test. Having lost Dhammika Prasad to an injury and Kusal Perera to a banned substance, Sri Lanka had three raw players in their XI - opener Udara Jayasundera was making a debut, 20-year old batsman Kusal Mendis was playing his second Test, and allrounder Milinda Siriwardana his third.
In their futile search for seam movement and swing, the new-ball bowlers pitched a touch too full, and after a maiden over to begin with from Suranga Lakmal, there were a flurry of drives. Guptill and Latham hit the straight boundary five times in the first five overs, presenting a vertical bat to guard against any lateral movement.
Guptill was strong off the pads too, flicking the ball through square leg for boundaries, and New Zealand racked up 51 in the first hour. Latham fell soon after - caught and bowled on the second attempt by Lakmal - but that made barely a dent in the home team's progress.
Williamson's first ball was on the pads from Nuwan Pradeep and he glanced it for four, before pouncing on the width offered by Lakmal to punch and cut either side of point. He had three fours in his first 15 balls. He punished width from Mathews and Dushmantha Chameera too, cutting with confidence to collect three more fours in his next 15 balls. When the ball demanded it though, Williamson left outside off and was rock solid in his defence.
Guptill also attacked Chameera when the 23-year old quick offered width, slapping a short one through point and flaying a fuller one through cover in the same over. He got to his half-century off 74 balls.
New Zealand went into lunch on 114 for 1 in 27 overs, and the pace did not abate after the break. They scored 61 in the next hour.
Mathews brought on his experienced fast bowlers again but Lakmal and Pradeep were loose. The pitch had a tinge of green on it but offered no lateral movement. Guptill passed 2000 Test runs in his 38th match - the sixth slowest for New Zealand - with a cut off Pradeep, and Williamson steered him between two gullies twice to get to his half-century off 53 balls.
When Mathews turned to spin, Guptill stepped out to loft Rangana Herath to the long-on boundary to not let him settle, and later slapped two short and wide offerings fiercely through cover. The only uncertain moments Guptill faced were during a brief surge of pace from Chameera, when he survived two lbw appeals in the 39th over. The second not-out decision would have been overturned had Mathews chosen to use the DRS. He shrugged that off and was soon celebrating a hundred off 147 balls, having driven Lakmal fluently through extra cover.
Williamson was also purring towards a hundred before he fell in the last over before tea, edging a short and wide ball from Pradeep to slip, entirely against the run of play. He was gone for 88 off 123 balls, having added 173 at 4.45 runs an over.
(espncricinfo)
