SL vs NZ, 2nd Test – Luke Ronchi regrets missed opportunities after another tough day for New Zealand

There are hard days and then there are those rough days, and then there is what New Zealand had to endure on day two in Galle. The only thing that seemed to be going well for them was the weather, as without the persistent cloudy conditions it would have actually been a day of cruel and unusual punishment.

Sri Lanka managed 296 runs, losing just two wickets, while New Zealand’s every plan, every thought, every effort was all but destroyed. They tried seven different bowlers and even gave Daryl Mitchell a run, while their spinners labored largely unsuccessfully for 124.4 overs before the declaration came. Only Glenn Phillips managed to cause any trouble.

In that sense, while Dhananjaya de Silva was lucky with his throws, none of the six wins he won on the trot were perhaps as important as this one, as the batting conditions eased considerably on the second day, allowing Sri Lanka’s batsmen to be ruthless to act on the procedure.

These views were also shared by Angelo Mathews, who was one of four Sri Lankan batsmen to score over fifty. Ronchi was also quick to acknowledge the Sri Lankan batters but still regretted the missed opportunities on the first day.

“I think if you look at the bowlers, they worked really hard, they tried different plans, different tactics to create a few chances and when we did that, unfortunately we missed them. But that’s just part of cricket. I think. “Looking back, the boys would have preferred to take some of them, but it’s just how it is.

“But there weren’t as many today as yesterday. And of course the Sri Lankans fought brilliantly.”

“As a batting line-up, it’s now about making sure we can apply,” Ronchi said. “We did that in the first Test, so we need to somehow back up our plans, our processes and the work we have done.”

“This is something we have been doing really well for a number of years. It’s not about looking at an end product, but about the processes and how we make the most of every ball, every moment and every partnership.”

“So the batters know their process and how they want to score runs, what they want to do and how they want to put pressure on the bowlers.”

More importantly, Ronchi said, it’s about making the game as deep as possible.

“You just want to go out there and hit and do it for as long as you can. That’s a big part of what’s going to happen. There are still three days left so we have to make sure we can beat.” Well, let’s see what happens.