New Zealand competed well in the first test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Rachin Ravindra was a standout with the bat and Ajaz Patel shone in the second innings.
The left-arm spinner picked up six for 90, and Ravindra’s knock of 92 gave the visitors a shot at chasing down the target.
The visitors fell 63 runs short of what would have been an historic win at the venue.
"Overall, I think we played a good test match," Ravindra said.
"There were times when it was drifting away from us and we brought it back with the ball.
"There is definitely plenty of positives to take from this test match."
The Black Caps missed out on an opportunity to build a more substantial lead in the first innings which proved costly.
But having the opportunity to play back-to-back tests at the venue will help mitigate the advantage Sri Lanka enjoys in home conditions.
"You know what to expect from the game wicket and I think that helps massively."
Will O’Rourke was great value as well. He nabbed a five-for in the first innings to continue his excellent start to test cricket.
He has 19 wickets at an average of 15.52 in three tests, but was a surprise selection in some ways.
Many may have assumed Matt Henry, New Zealand’s best-performed bowler in recent times, would start alongside the captain Tim Southee, because you have to include the captain, right?
But O’Rourke got the nod and Henry watched from the sidelines as Southee struggled to make an impact with the ball. He did not bowl poorly, but Henry has been sharper and the two may very well swap roles in the second test.
Coach Gary Stead has already paved the way to leave Southee out. Before they left New Zealand, it was made clear Southee would not play every test.
Mitchell Santner and Devon Conway should feel a little nervous as well.
The Black Caps could switch out Santner for Michael Bracewell if they felt inclined, not that it is likely. The Wellington all-rounder lost his spot in the side to Glenn Phillips while he was injured and had performed quite well up until then.
Conway’s form is of more concern, though.
He made a wonderful start to test cricket with a double hundred against England at Lord’s. He registered back-to-back hundreds against Bangladesh and had an impressive series against Pakistan in 2022-23.
But the sparkling form he showed early on has been overshadowed by a worrying flaw.
His bat comes down on a troubling angle and it is a technique which does not look well-suited to the slower, turning pitches you get in the subcontinent.
He will keep his spot for now, though. His only potential replacement, Will Young, has not convinced at the top of the order.
But take a look at Conway’s recent run of scores. Since his 78 against Sri Lanka at the Basin Reserve in March last year, he has posted scores of 12, 22, 11, 2, 1, 29, 0, 17, 17 and 4, a total of 115 runs at average of 11.5.
If that run continues much longer then the Black Caps might have to look at shuffling Ravindra up the order.
Phillips could shoulder more batting responsibility in the middle of the order if needed. It feels like he is batting a spot or two too low at No 7.
Second test
Galle, 4.30pm
New Zealand: Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Darly Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Ajaz Patel, William O’Rourke, Tim Southee (captain), Michael Bracewell, Will Young, Ben Sears.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Kusal Mendis, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Oshada Fernando, Nishan Peiris, Milan Rathnayake, Jeffrey Vandersay.
