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New Zealand may have lost both Tests – the second particularly badly, by an innings and 154 runs – but a closer look at how the games panned out probably shows a picture not as dire as first imagined.
In the first Test, they ran Sri Lanka closer than most, falling short in the chase as they lost by 68 runs. There they also had Sri Lanka on the ropes on several occasions, both with the ball and with the bat, but were unable to push on.
“We had our moments,” reflected captain Tim Southee after the series. “Looking back at the first innings of the first Test, if we were able to push on there and gain a bit more of a lead then things may have been different in the series.
“And I think the second match we were on the wrong side of the toss and it was tough to make those early breakthroughs and, yeah, it’s tough to come back from that.”
Losing the toss definitely hurt New Zealand’s chances, though likely not as much as the number of chances they failed to take on the opening day of the second Test. Multiple catches were missed, and a stumping chance too. Southee acknowledged that this was not what they’ve come to expect of themselves.
“Yeah, disappointing. No one means to drop catches. I felt like the energy and the ground fielding wasn’t too bad, but obviously, a couple of chances went down and it can hurt you in this part of the world.
“But no one means to drop them, and the guys are working hard on it. It’s something that us as a Kiwi side, we pride ourselves on, so we’ll be looking to improve in that area as well.”
With a tour to India next month, things are only going to get tougher. However, the experiences of Galle, for both the batters and bowlers, will no doubt hold them in good stead.
“I think just getting those overs into the spinners [was important]. Obviously when they’re playing in New Zealand they don’t have the opportunity to bowl a lot. You look to learn and move forward as a player and as a team, so it’s what we’ll be doing over the next week before we hit India.
“Ajaz is obviously our main spinner and he did well throughout the series. Glenn Phillips, another guy who hasn’t bowled all that much, really showed that he has grown, and gone from strength to strength. They will all learn from that and we will hopefully do well in India.”
As for the batters, while there will no doubt be regrets over how that horror morning session on day three turned out, their immediate response definitely offers up a truer reflection of what this New Zealand outfit hopes to achieve more consistently.
Despite the margin of defeat, New Zealand notched up their highest score in Galle – 360 – and did so at an impressive run rate of 4.40 per over. It also served as a blueprint of sorts in how to effectively counter a turning surface.
“The second innings was much more the way we want to play. The guys were quite positive and played in a more positive manner. It was a big shift from the first innings.
“I think it was a much clearer way for the guys to play. They they went out and they played their shots. I don’t think it was reckless at any stage, even someone like Mitchell Santner, he was still hitting something like 50 of 100. So it was a good tempo innings, and it was about picking the right moments to attack and right moments to defend.
“I think when the conditions are doing plenty and obviously spin was doing a lot at certain times, the guys were able to absorb at times, and also able to put pressure back on the bowlers as well.”
