SYDNEY, 8 April 2005 — New Zealand led Sri Lanka by 127 runs with eight second-innings wickets in hand at close of play on the fourth day of the opening Test in Napier yesterday.

The Kiwis were 64 for two when bad light stopped play to end early after bowling Sri Lanka out for 498 at tea for a first-innings lead of 63. Opener James Marshall, playing in his second Test, followed up his first innings half-century with an unbeaten 33.

Sri Lankan paceman Lasith Malinga, whose unorthodox round-arm bowling action had troubled the New Zealand batsmen all match, dismissed Craig Cumming for 16 then trapped Hamish Marshall lbw for six in the penultimate over of the day.

With only one day remaining and the pitch at McLean Park offering little assistance to the bowlers, a draw is the most likely result.

The Sri Lanka first innings fell away quickly after lunch yesterday but not before the tourists were able to post their highest total against New Zealand, beating the previous record by a run.

They lost their last seven wickets for 91 runs after resuming on 351-3 after centuries from captain Marvan Atapattu (127) and Mahela Jayawardene (141).

Jayawardene started the day on 118 but his dismissal triggered the collapse. He and Thilan Samaraweera piled on 56 runs in the first hour to extend their fourth-wicket partnership to 122 but the runs dried up once they were separated.

Samaraweera reached his seventh Test 50 off 80 balls but was denied a hundred when Chris Martin dismissed him for 88 to snare his fourth wicket of the innings.

Left-arm paceman James Franklin also finished with four wickets, removing Jayawardene then mopping up the tail, including Rangana Herath and Nuwan Kulasekara for ducks.

Inzamam Reprimanded Over

Bat Throwing Incident

In New Delhi, Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq has been officially reprimanded for throwing his bat down during his team’s defeat in the second one day international against India in Visakhapatnam.

Inzamam was found guilty of ‘abuse of cricket equipment’ by the match referee Chris Broad, who conducted a hearing yesterday, an International Cricket Council (ICC) release said. The Pakistan captain reacted angrily after being run out for 16 in a mix-up with Abdul Razzaq on Tuesday and threw down his bat while crossing the boundary.

“As captain, Inzamam must learn to set the example for his team to follow. The player has apologized for his actions and I hope that we will not see this repeated,” Broad said.

Pakistan, chasing a huge victory target of 357, lost the game by 58 runs, giving India a 2-0 lead in the six-match series. The third one day game against India tomorrow in Jamshedpur.