“Malinga was originally expected to undergo the test on December 23 but it was postponed by three days on the advice of his doctors,” said chief selector Kapila Wijegunawardene.

Malinga who is struggling to be fit from a bone related injury to his left knee which he sustained during the ODI series against West Indies in October-November is being attended to by consultant physician Dr Arjuna de Silva and consultant rheumatologist Dr Harindu Wijesinghe in consultation with orthopaedic surgeon Dr David Young in Australia.

“Lasith’s injury is not a serious one but he is experiencing some pain. We as selectors have the utmost confidence that he will come through the test and be available for at least the second half of the ODI series,” said Wijegunawardene.

“We know Lasith is a tough character and he has managed himself well in the past even with injuries. However we will not push him too much. We will take a cautious approach as we will need him for the important tournaments ahead like the Asia Cup and the World T20,” he said.

Malinga is the captain of the Sri Lanka T20 side that won the World T20 held in Bangladesh last year and will defend their title in India in March.

Fast bowling all-rounder Thisara Perera has been flown to New Zealand as Malinga’s replacement while Nuwan Kulasekara has taken the place of injured Dhammika Prasad and Kithuruwan Vithanage drafted into the ODI side for Kusal Perera.

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

On a Dunedin pitch said to be ripe for seam bowlers, Sri Lanka were left to rue putting New Zealand in to bat as the Black Caps amassed 409 for eight by stumps.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum plays a shot during the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Dunedin. McCullum smashed 75 off 57 balls before being dismissed. AFP

Opener Guptill fell just before the close, after hitting just his third Test century and his first in four years, coming 33 runs short of his highest score of 189 against Bangladesh in 2010.

Meanwhile the ever-reliable Kane Williamson made 88 and Brendon McCullum 75 as New Zealand exposed the raw Sri Lankan attack.

New Zealand were cruising 229 for two at tea before Sri Lanka fought back in the final session when they took six wickets, albeit for an expensive 180 runs.

There were only seven maiden overs bowled and New Zealand cracked 57 fours, of which Guptill contributed 21.

The opener’s position in the side was precarious after he averaged just 13 in the recent tour of Australia, and said he “didn’t have a lot to lose” as he took to the Sri Lankan attack.

His third Test century came 41 innings and four years after he last posted three figures against Zimbabwe.

Inconsistent form saw him out of the Test side for two years before the short-form of the game resurrected his career when he played a starring role at this year’s World Cup.

Guptill got off the mark with an off-drive to the boundary and in an elegant innings, he used the same front-foot stroke to bring up his 100 when he drove Suranga Lakmal to the boundary.

“I was trying to go out and be as positive as I could be,” Guptill said, as he repaid the faith shown in him by the New Zealand selectors. “I didn’t have a lot to lose so I just tried to go out and be as positive as I could and have some fun.”

“They (selectors) have been good to me and given me a good run in the Test side and I thank them very much for that and today capped off a lot of hard work over the last 18 months,” Guptill added.

Guptill had a few chances — two shaky edges and a near run-out early in the innings, and two lbw shouts on 78.

Had Sri Lanka appealed the second one, replays showed the not out decision may have been overturned.

But with luck going his way, Guptill shared a 173-run partnership with Williamson, a New Zealand record for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, then added 89 with McCullum.

He was eventually undone six overs from stumps when captain Angelo Mathews swung the ball away and the batsman feathered a catch to wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal.

Williamson fell on the last ball before tea, lashing out at a rough delivery from Nuwan Pradeep to be caught in the slips by Dimuth Karunaratne reaching high above his head.

He left the ground requiring only eight more runs to become the fifth player to reach 1,000 runs this calendar year.

McCullum, who like Guptill failed to fire in Australia, also found the Sri Lankan attack more to his liking.

He was at his belligerent best as he raced from 35 to 50 with a six, two fours and a single in successive deliveries from Dushmantha Chameera.

McCullum reached 75 in 57 balls and belted 13 fours and a six before Mathews turned to Milinda Siriwardana, his seventh bowler for the day.

With his third delivery in his third Test, Siriwardana bowled full on the leg side and McCullum sent a top edge to Kithuruwan Vithanage at deep square leg. For Sri Lanka, Suranga Lakmal took two for 69 while Nuwan Pradeep and 23-year-old Chameera both finished with two for 101. AFP

Sri Lanka are among New Zealand’s current sequence of 11 unbeaten Tests at home having suffered two comprehensive defeats at the start of last summer, despite having the redoubtable Kumar Sangakkara to anchor the batting order.
Sangakkara then followed Mahela Jayawardene into retirement in August leaving an array of former discards, debutants and largely untested newcomers to support captain Angelo Mathews, opener Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal as the chief source of runs.

While McCullum’s involvement in the Cairns perjury trial and English umpire Llong’s appointment despite a game-changing blunder in Adelaide last month were naturally storylines leading into the first home Test of the summer, Sri Lanka’s preparations have also been dogged by dramas.

Dhammika Prasad’s tour-ending back injury in the warm-up game in Queenstown and first-choice wicket keeper Kusal Perera’s exile after testing positive to a banned substance has made a tough assignment even more daunting for a squad that has played their last eight Tests in Colombo, Galle or Pallekele.
Mathews alluded to the change of climate on Wednesday, yet losing Prasad and Perera are bigger concerns.
“Kusal’s news was shocking. I can’t really comment on that. We hope Sri Lankan cricket, Kusal and his lawyers will do their best to get him on the park ASAP,” he said.

Recalled opener Kaushal Silva was due to arrive on Wednesday as Perera’s replacement, a timeframe that meant he was highly unlikely to feature so the uncapped Udara Jayawardena is in line to blunt the new ball with Karunaratne.
“We don’t have greats in the team anymore, so it’s up to us. We’ve got to pass on what we know,” said Karunaratne, who is one of just three specialist batsmen with previous Test experience in New Zealand – he made 152 in last year’s Boxing Day Test in Christchurch.

Kithuruwan Vithanage finds himself reinstated to the top order after an impressive A tour in Christchurch in October, while 20-year-old Kusal Mendis, who has one Test and only 11 first-class games on his resume, retains his place despite twin failures in Queenstown.
Milinda Siriwardana, who is just two Tests into his career, rounds out the capable batsmen and will also offer a second spin bowling option behind Rangana Herath who is likely to be confined to a containment role until the pitch wears.
In contrast to Mathews, McCullum has few concerns – Cairns is apparently not among them – as the Black Caps seek to build on the momentum they built in Australia after being outplayed in Brisbane.
Other than Martin Guptill’s continuing under-performance at Test level the Black Caps appear set to bounce back from the 2-0 series loss across the Tasman.

Spinner Mark Craig also struggled but could retain his place subject to a final pitch appraisal before the toss. He has been bracketed with left arm quick Neil Wagner.
Although the pitch presented seam-friendly on Wednesday McCullum realized prolonged sunlight could take some sting out of the surface.
“You’ve got to make sure the team is not picked for the first day, you’re picking for the full five days,” said McCullum, before offering both options hope.
“Neil Wagner’s a guy who’s going to bowl long spells so it allows you to rotate your seamers in shorter spells for a little bit more high impact.”
And then the rider: “If it [the wicket] does dry out [before the toss] and if we think it’s going to dry out later in the game then Mark Craig certainly comes into play.”
The Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand will be shown live on Channel Eye as well as on satellite channel Dialog Now from 3 AM (Dec 10). (Agencies)

The squads for the One-Day International and Twenty20 series were also picked.

Both Silva and Thirimanne have been struggling for form in the recent home Test series against West Indies and their places in the team will be taken by Kusal Mendis who has been promoted to be Dimuth Karunaratne’s new opening partner and, Udara Jayasundara who has been given the task of filling the vital number three slot.

Jayasundara, a 24-year-old left-hander from Ananda College who represents Ragama CC in the Premier league has scored 10 centuries in 56 first-class matches which include a highest score of 222.

Mendis, 20 made his Test debut in the West Indies series and scored 13 and 39 batting at number three.

“We have selected the squads solely on current form which has been the determining factor in the process,” said chairman of selectors Kapila Wijegunawardene.

“We have kept faith in the players who have shown form in the recent tour to New Zealand with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team and picked Jayasundara and Kithuruwan Vithanage,” he said.

Wijegunawardene said that Kaushal Silva was dropped because the selection committee felt that “he wasn’t playing his natural game and his performances was not upto the expectations of the team”.

“We left Thirimanne out to give him time to sort out his form and regain his confidence,” he said.

In Silva’s case it was more than his failure to contribute the factor that weighed against him was his over cautiousness. He crossed the fifty mark only once in his last 11 innings.

Thirimanne on the other hand has not scored a Test hundred since March 2013 and gone through 28 innings scoring just two fifties. The left-hander however retains his place in the ODI squad.

In the absence of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara who are now retired and the exclusion of Kaushal Silva and Thirimanne the Sri Lankan batting line up will have a new look with the inclusion of players like Kusal Mendis, Udara Jayasundara, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Kusal Perera and Milinda Siriwardana with a heavy responsibility lying on the shoulder of skipper Angelo Mathews. The bowling unit has not undergone any major changes but for the inclusion of Jeffrey Vandersay. The 25-year-old leggie has been knocking on the door for recognition with some sterling performances for the Board President’s team and the Sri Lanka ‘A’ side in the past few months and richly deserves his selection. He has been included not only in the Test squad but also in the other two formats as well. “Jeffrey has performed well and we thought a wrist spinner would be of value to the side. His selection will depend on the conditions and pitches in New Zealand, but nevertheless we have picked him with a long term view,” said Wijegunawardene.

Hard hitting right-hander Chamara Kapugedera has been named in the ODI and T20 squads. In recent times Kapugedera has been picked to play only in the shortest format T20, but his inclusion for the ODI matches is an indication the selectors think he can still deliver in that format as well. He last played in an ODI in 2012.

Sri Lanka will play a series of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is during their five-week tour that commences with a three-day warm-up game against a New Zealand Board President’s XI at Queenstown on December 3.

THE SQUADS

TESTS

Angelo Mathews (captain), Rangana Herath (vice-captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Udara Jayasundara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Kusal Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Dilruwan Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay.

ODIs

Angelo Mathews (captain), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-captain), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Sachitra Senanayake, Ajantha Mendis, Dhammika Prasad, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamara Kapugedera, Jeffrey Vandersay.

T20Is

Lasith Malinga (captain), Kusal Perera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Milinda Siriwardana, Chamara Kapugedera, Kithuruwan Vithanage, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dushmantha Chameera, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Sachitra Senanayake, Isuru Udana.

Pakistan brought the match within a reasonable range fighting back conceding a 166 run first innings lead with only one wicket intact on the second day of the second Test played at the P.Sara Stadium. When rain stopped play with still four overs to be bowled Sri Lanka were 304 for 9 in 118.2 overs with a first innings lead of 166.

Sri Lanka who were 70 for 1 overnight in their first innings in reply to Pakistan’s 138 yesterday were aiming high but their wings were clipped by a depleted Pakistan bowling attack who were minus their main strike bowler Riyaz Wahab who had a hairline fracture and most probably will be out of the series. The first Test hero for the visitors Yasir Shah who took seven wickets at Galle, hit back with his spin to take 5 for 95 yesterday

When play began , Sangakkara and Kaushal Silva the overnight unbeaten pair gave every indication of putting up a big score. The second wicket pair added 55 runs when Sangakkara stepped out and hoisted Zulfiquar Babar towards long on , but the shot lacked the power to beat the fielder Ashad Shafiq who accepted the skier. Lahiru Thirimanne who walked in needing a good score against his name did not last long. In a short stay at the wicket. He perished, caught at short and the Lankans dreams of obtaining a substantial first innings lead seemed to be receding

With Sri Lanka losing early wickets, opener and the first Test centurion Kaushal Silva provided the backbone of the Sri Lankan innings. Joined by skipper Angelo Mathews at 119 for 3 ,Silva batted sensibly and was working himself gradually towards his second hundred. At lunch Sri Lanka were 147 for 3 with Kaushal Silva 64 n.o and Angelo Mathews 11 n.o

Soon after lunch Kaushal Silva after adding 16 runs to his individual score was run out due to lack of communication with skipper Angelo Mathews who did not respond. Silva was approaching a well made hundred but it was not to be. The opener batted for 335 minutes and had faced 218 deliveries with 10 fours. By that time Silva and Mathews had added 72 runs . Silva’s innings was beyond praise as it was he who provided the driving force when the side needed runs. Dinesh Chandimal and Kithuruwan Vithanage who were badly in need of a good score were out for poor shots. Finally it was left to paceman Dammika Prasad who struck a useful 35 with Tharindu Kaushal striking 18 off 44 deliveri