DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) Sri Lanka negotiated rain breaks to reach 69-2 at tea Sunday on the fourth day of the first test after New Zealand declared its second innings and set the tourists 405 to win.
Opener Tom Latham made an unbeaten 109 before New Zealand declared at 267-3 shortly before lunch, giving the hosts a little more than five sessions to bowl out Sri Lanka for a 1-0 lead in the two-test series.
Captain Brendon McCullum allowed for rain in the timing of his declaration and showers twice interrupted play, forcing lunch to be taken 10 minutes early, and preventing play for 25 minutes in the second session.
Despite those interuptions, which added to the discomfort of a bitterly cold day, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis gave Sri Lanka a sound start, putting on a patient 54 for the first wicket before Karunaratne was out for 29, slashing at a short ball from Tim Southee and edging it through to wicketkeeper B.J. Watling.
The keeper gloved his second of the innings, and eighth of the match, when Udara Jayasundera gloved a Neil Wagner delivery down the leg side. Jayasundera made scores of 1 and 3 in a forgettable test debut.
Mendis, in only his second test, was 32 not at tea and Dinesh Chandimal was 5.
Earlier, Latham scored his third test century and his first on home soil to provide the backbone of the New Zealand second innings. With his father, former New Zealand test batsman Rod Latham, watching, Latham took a single from the last ball before drinks in the morning session to reach his century from 166 balls.
Latham put on 141 for the second wicket with Kane Williamson, who made 71, as New Zealand steadily built on its first innings lead of 137 after resuming a 171-1. New Zealand dismissed Sri Lanka for 294 on the third day in reply to its own first innings of 431.
Williamson produced his second half century of the match after making 88 in the first innings and becoming only the second New Zealander to score 1,000 test runs in a calendar year. McCullum was the first and he added another milestone Sunday when hit his 100th six in tests, equaling the career record held by former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist.
Williamson was bowled by Dushmantha Chameera with a ball which pierced his usually impregnable defense. Ross Taylor was also bowled, charging Herath, before McCullum arrived to speed his team towards a declaration as rain clouds gathered.
