Williamson, who came to the crease after the early wicket of Martin Guptill, put on a 117-run second wicket partnership with Tom Latham to make major inroads into India’s first innings total of 318.

At stumps, New Zealand had reduced the deficit to 166 runs, with Williamson unbeaten on 65 and Latham also well set on 56 when rain stopped play after tea to wash out the final session of play. The batting duo tackled the Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with aplomb as they used their feet and the sweep shot to great effect at Kanpur’s Green Park Stadium.

“We are confronted by two very good spinners who know the conditions well and are going to challenge you at different times,” New Zealand’s batting coach Craig McMillan told reporters.

“Both guys soaked that (constant appealing) up really nicely throughout that partnership and whenever they got a scoring opportunity they made the most of it. “That is one of the keys, you don’t allow Ashwin or Jadeja to bowl 12 or 15

balls at one person. You have to find a way a way to get down the other end and both those guys did that really nicely today.” Williamson survived a scare when a Ashwin ball hit the back of his helmet.

The back flaps which provide extra support to the skull fell onto his stumps, but didn’t dislodge the bails.

Latham also rode his luck after Jadeja got the left-handed batsman caught at short leg, but replays showed the ball hitting the helmet grille of fielder Lokesh Rahul.

The decision was referred to the third umpire who gave Latham not out as according to the rules, external protective gear cannot come into play while taking a catch.

The duo got to their respective fifties soon after, although off-spinner Ashwin and left-arm spinner Jadeja continued to trouble the batsmen.

Only the threat of rain and a flattening pitch loomed as possible barricades for New Zealand, who closed day three on 171 for one with nine wickets in hand.
Tom Latham was on 72 with master batsman Williamson on 48.
Although Sri Lanka have their backs to the wall, forecast rain and an easy wicket meant it was crucial for New Zealand to get the timing of their declaration right, according to bowling spearhead Tim Southee.

“With the new ball, it’s important for us to try and make early inroads,” he said.
“It’s not going to come easy. If batsmen get in on this wicket there’s not too many demons in it so we’re going to have to work extremely hard to take 10 wickets.”
Williamson, who started his innings with 992 runs for the year reached 1,000 driving Rangana Herath elegantly over mid-off to the boundary.

He joins England’s Alastair Cook and Joe Root and Australians David Warner and Steve Smith as the only players to achieve the milestone in 2015 but his batting average of 94.54 is considerably superior to the other four. Brendon McCullum, with 1,164 runs in 2014, is the only other New Zealander to score 1,000 runs in a calendar year.
Williamson’s class shone as New Zealand ramped up their dominance over Sri Lanka, removing their last six wickets on Saturday to have the tourists all out for 294, 137 runs in arrears.
Guptill and Latham set about building on New Zealand’s advantage, moving swiftly to 79 before Guptill’s luck ran out when he was bowled by a shooter from Herath for 46.

The first-innings century-maker had earlier survived caught-and-bowled chances to Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal and being dropped on 19 by Kusal Mendis at cover.
Latham, who posted his seventh Test 50 with a single off Milinda Siriwardana, has been content to build partnerships – first with Guptill then an unbroken 92-run stand with Williamson.
Sri Lanka suffered a setback at the start of the day when they resumed their first innings at 197-4 and lost batting general Dinesh Chandimal with the first ball he faced.
The Sri Lankans had expected Chandimal to lead them within close range of New Zealand’s 431, instead he was unable to add to his overnight 83 as he fell to Southee.

Southee struck again in his next over when he had Kithuruwan Vithanage caught behind for 22.
Siriwardana and Herath emerged from the setback to produce a stubborn 43-run stand for the seventh wicket.
The 30-year-old Siriwardana, who made his Test debut only two months ago, had a reprieve on 29 when he was caught by a leaping Doug Bracewell on the long-leg boundary.
The apparent dismissal turned into a six when Bracewell fell backwards over the boundary rope.
However, Siriwardana was not to score again as four balls later he edged Neil Wagner to Ross Taylor at first slip.
Herath, who weathered a sustained short-ball barrage and took a cruel blow to the head, faced 74 deliveries before he was gone for 15.
The innings ended when leg-spinner Mitchell Santner had Pradeep caught behind to give wicketkeeper BJ Watling his sixth catch of the innings.
It is the second time the South Africa-born Watling has taken six catches in an innings, one short of the Test record of seven jointly held by Pakistan’s Wasim Bari, New Zealander Ian Smith and England’s Bob Taylor.
For New Zealand, Southee took three for 71 and Wagner three for 87.

Scores

New Zealand 1st innings 431

Sri Lanka 1st innings
D. Karunaratne c Watling b Santner 84
K. Mendis c Watling b Boult 08
U. Jayasundera c Watling b Wagner 01
D. Chandimal c Guptill b Southee 83
A. Mathews c Watling b Southee 0 2
K. Vithanage c Watling b Southee 22
M. Siriwardana c Taylor b Wagner 35
R. Herath c Boult b Wagner 15
D. Chameera c Taylor b Boult 14
S. Lakmal not out 18
N. Pradeep c Watling b Santner 03
Extras (b1, lb4, nb4) 09
Total: (for 10 wickets, 117.1 overs) 294
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-29, 3-151, 4-156, 5-198, 6-209, 7-252, 8-273, 9-287, 10-294
Bowling: Boult 22-7-52-2, Southee 27-4-71-3, Bracewell 21-6-42-0, Wagner 25-5-87-3, Santner 21.1-8-37-2, Williamson 1-1-0-0

New Zealand 2nd innings
M. Guptill b Herath 46
T. Latham not out 72
K. Williamson not out 48
Extras (b1, nb4) 05
Total (1 wicket, 48 overs) 171
Fall of wicket: 1-79 (Guptill)
Bowling: Lakmal 9-0-26-0, Mathews 4-1-4-0, Chameera 10-0-40-0, Pradeep 9-1-29-0, Herath 8-1-39-1, Siriwardana 7-0-28-0, Jayasundera 1-0-4-0

In reply to Australia’s formidable 559 for nine declared on a placid wicket, the Kiwis were 510 for six at stumps, trailing by just 49 runs.

Ross Taylor had emerged from a form slump and scored his second Test double century to be a career-best 235 not out, with Mark Craig on seven.

Williamson became one of the four youngest players to reach 12 Test centuries when he made 166, while Starc bowled what is believed to be the fastest recorded delivery in Test cricket.

Williamson rarely looked troubled in posting his second century in as many matches, before mistiming a pull shot off Josh Hazlewood and was caught at mid-on by Mitchell Johnson to end a record 265-run stand with Taylor, a new benchmark for New Zealand in Tests against Australia.

He faced 250 balls in 390 minutes and hit 24 boundaries.

The 25-year-old made 140 and 59 in the first Test at the Gabba, which New Zealand lost by 208 runs, and continued that form in Perth.

It was his 12th Test century and only three other players have scored as many centuries at the same age — the others being Sachin Tendulkar (16), Don Bradman (13) and Alastair Cook (12).

Williamson has made centuries in five of his last seven Tests against Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Australia, and in that time he has scored 1,118 runs at 111.80.

Taylor was a little less sure at the crease and flirted with disaster on a couple of occasions, but recovered to post his 13th Test hundred and looked increasingly comfortable during his innings. It was a welcome performance for the classy Taylor, who has been struggling with form for some time and had not scored a Test century since November last year.

In a game where records have been tumbling with incredible regularity, Taylor posted a new benchmark for visiting players at the WACA and also became the first New Zealander to score a Test double century against Australia.

AFP

But their stand at the Rose Bowl was a New Zealand record for the third wicket in all ODI cricket, surpassing the 180 put on by Adam Parore and Ken Rutherford against India at Vaodara in 1994.
New Zealand lost a couple of late wickets and it needed a four by Tim Southee off Ben Stokes to see the World Cup finalists complete victory with an over to spare.
England were left regretting being bowled out for 302 with 28 balls of their innings left after skipper Eoin Morgan, who top-scored with 71, won the toss.
“Kane and Ross just keep churning out the results for us,” said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum at the presentation ceremony.
Williamson, named man-of-the-match having also bowled Morgan with his off-spin, said: “That partnership in the middle was key, but it was so important to bowl England out.”
He added: “Ross has been outstanding, his contribution was massive.”

New Zealand stormed to an improbable 199-run victory over England on the last day of the second test to level the series 1-1 at Headingley on Tuesday.
Earlier, New Zealand prized out three more wickets to move to the brink of a series-levelling victory as England scrambled to 206 for eight at tea.
The hosts, chasing a record 455 to win, lost five wickets in the morning and only a defiant 56 from captain Alastair Cook held up the ruthless New Zealanders who are bidding for their fifth test triumph in England.
Cook’s innings, lasting nearly four hours, ended when he was trapped lbw by part-time spinner Kane Williamson before Moeen Ali was bowled for two, shouldering arms to a ball from Matt Henry that struck his off stump.
Stuart Broad made a breezy 23 before he was bowled by Williamson.
Jos Buttler battled through the afternoon session to finish unbeaten on 40 with Mark Wood on 10.
England had resumed on 44 for no wicket and Adam Lyth failed to add to his overnight 24, feathering a swinging ball from paceman Trent Boult through to wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi.
Gary Ballance unconvincingly negotiated 25 deliveries for six runs before Boult produced a venomous full delivery that crashed into the left-hander’s stumps.
Ian Bell, on one, turned a bouncing ball from spinner Mark Craig straight into the hands of Williamson at leg-slip and Joe Root was brilliantly caught off Craig for a second-ball duck by Tom Latham at short leg.
With England’s slim hopes of victory all but over, Cook and Ben Stokes adopted a cautious approach, although the allrounder produced a couple of trademark crisp boundaries to entertain a sparse crowd on a chilly day at Headingley.
The pair added 40 for the fifth wicket but Stokes was out for 29 just before lunch, caught by Ronchi as he attempted an ambitious cut off Williamson.
England won the first test at Lord’s by 124 runs.