WELLINGTON, New Zealand: Kane Williamson and Neil Wagner stole a bye from the last ball of the first cricket test Monday to beat Sri Lanka by two wickets and emphasize New Zealand’s aptitude for extraordinary test match victories.
Only two weeks after New Zealand beat England by a single run at the Basin Reserve, the Black Caps again played a part in one of the most incredible finishes in test match history.
Rain seemed to have wrecked the final day of the match in Christchurch when it prevented play in the scheduled first two sessions. When it cleared the umpires announced a single extended session in which New Zealand needed 257 runs to win and Sri Lanka needed nine wickets.
A winning result seemed impossible though the session was extended to at least 52 overs and more than 3-1/2 hours. In what turned into a 50-overs match, then a 20-overs match, Williamson made an unbeaten 121 to guide New Zealand to victory.
A limpid rainbow hung over Hagley Park as the players came out in the late afternoon to play out the last chapter of an absorbing match. The Sri Lanka fielders were shielding their eyes against the setting sun as the last overs were bowled and darkness engulfed the ground just as the players left the field.
New Zealand needed 131 runs off the last 20 overs, then 101 off the last 15 with Williamson steering the innings.
Williamson had support from Daryl Mitchell, who made 102 in the first innings and produced another crucial innings of 81 on Monday, accelerating New Zealand’s scoring rate. When he was out New Zealand still needed 53 to win.
Asitha Fernando bowled superbly through more than the last hour, removing Mitchell with a magnificent yorker. He then dismissed Tom Blundell with 47 to win and Michael Bracewell with 19 required.
Finally eight runs were needed off the last over with Williamson in charge.
One run came from the first ball bowled by Asitha, one run from the second and then Matt Henry was run out and the drama increased.
Neil Wagner, the hero of New Zealand’s win over England, had been supposed to be ruled out of the match and the next test with a bulging disc in his back and a hamstring strain. But he couldn’t resist the drama of the moment and he jogged to the crease with five runs needed and three balls remaining.
Williamson struck a boundary and there was one run needed off two balls. The next ball from Asitha was short, it passed over Williamson’s head as he stood upright but no wide was called.
That left the equation as one ball, one run needed.
Williamson played at but missed another short ball and ran through, arriving as the stumps were shattered by a Sri Lanka throw at the non-striker's end. The final and crucial decision was left to the video umpire. He considered the footage and decided Williamson had made his ground and New Zealand had won by two wickets with no time to spare.
