SYDNEY, 9 April 2005 — New Zealand overcame a few final-day jitters to draw the first Test with Sri Lanka at McLean Park in Napier yesterday.
Sri Lanka were seven without loss in their second innings, chasing a near-impossible 302 in a session for victory, when play was abandoned after tea because of bad light.
The innings lasted nine balls but with neither side in a position to push for a result, the captains agreed to call an early finish.
New Zealand had earlier been bowled out for 238 in their second innings at tea after resuming on 64 for two.
There were a few nervous moments when Lasith Malinga ripped through the middle order to reduce New Zealand to 148 for seven at lunch before completing his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
But Lou Vincent and Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming steadied the innings with a stubborn eighth-wicket partnership of 33 that killed off any real chance of a result.
Vincent top-scored with 52 while Fleming made 41 after initially retiring hurt on six with a hand injury. He returned at the fall of the seventh wicket and held the innings together before being the last man out.
Sri Lanka’s Australian-born coach John Dyson said there was no chance of a result once the New Zealanders got too far in front but added his side only had themselves to blame after spilling five catches.
“We thought that if it turned out to be a 220-230 run chase off somewhere near 50 overs, you’re definitely going to go for that,” Dyson told reporters.
“We normally catch extremely well. If we could have held on to those it would have made it a very interesting game.”
Fleming said his team had put themselves under pressure by batting negatively because they knew they could not win.
“We’ve been in this situation before where, because of the time left in the game, there’s only one team that can really win it,” he said.
“We didn’t have time to set a target and bowl them out, we got defensive in our mindset and paid the price.”
Malinga won the man-of-the-match award after taking five for 80 in the second innings, giving him nine wickets in the match.
The chances of a result were already remote heading into the last day, on a flat pitch ideal for batting. New Zealand piled on 561 in their first innings on the back of centuries by Hamish Marshall and Astle while Sri Lanka replied with 498.
Mahela Jayawardene top scored with 141 while captain Marvan Atapattu made 127 to join Gary Kirsten, Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar as the only players to score hundreds against all nine Test-playing opponents.
