[1]Daniel Flynn hit an impressive half-century as New Zealand reached 396-8 in their first innings at tea on the second day of the second and final Test against Sri Lanka on Monday.
The middle-order batsman was unbeaten on 50 at the break with Jeetan Patel 13 not out after the tourists added 173 to their overnight total of 223-2 at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo.
New Zealand earlier slipped from 276-2 to 300-6, but Flynn steadied the innings with his second half-century of the series. He added 46 for the seventh wicket with Doug Bracewell (24) and 28 for the next with Tim Southee (15).
Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath took four of the six wickets that fell in the first two sessions, including those of well-set skipper Ross Taylor (142) and Kane Williamson (135).
Taylor and Williamson added 262 for the third wicket to put their team in a strong position before they fell in the space of 14 runs, trapped leg-before while attempting to sweep.
Herath, who also dismissed debutant Todd Astle (three) and Southee, has so far taken four wickets for 100 runs off 47 overs.
Part-time off-spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan bowled wicket-keeper Kruger van Wyk for a duck as New Zealand lost three wickets for 75 in the morning session.
Taylor, 119 overnight, cracked 11 fours in his 306-ball knock while Williamson's 305-ball innings included 12 boundaries.
The hosts, who took their second wicket in the fourth over on Sunday, continued to struggle until Herath and Dilshan struck in the second hour of the morning.
Williamson, 95 overnight, reached his third Test century in 18 matches with an edged four off paceman Shaminda Eranga.
He also completed 1,000 Test runs a few overs later, fluently driving seamer Nuwan Kulasekara through the covers for a boundary.
Sri Lanka lead the series 1-0 following their 10-wicket win in the opening Test in Galle.
Links:
[1] http://103.241.136.51/daniel-flynnafpjpgcropdisplayjpg-457