Twitter Reactions: Daryl Mitchell, Matt Henry script brilliant comeback against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval

After a rough couple of days in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval, the Tim Southee-led side bounced back and made a brilliant comeback in the match. Daryl Mitchell, who has been sensational in recent times, once again rose up to the occasion and smashed a scintillating century to pull New Zealand out of the troubles. Matt Henry too supported him well as the Black Caps took an 18-run lead after the first innings.

Notably, the home side lost the wicket of Tom Blundell early in the day and with that, they were under a lot of pressure. However, the lower order showed a lot of grit and courtesy of which, New Zealand are currently in a better position than they were after Day 2. Interestingly, batting at number 9, Henry played counter-attacking cricket, which actually helped the Black Caps establish their authority in the match. The 31-year-old smacked 72 off 75 deliveries and based on his innings, the home side is in a comfortable position.

Meanwhile, the Lankan Lions didn’t start well with the bat. Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis, who were brilliant with the bat in the first innings of the match, got dismissed rather early while Oshada Fernando once again failed to justify his potential.

Currently, the veteran Angelo Matthew is batting alongside Prabath Jayasuriya. The partnership is going to be very important for the visiting side as Sri Lanka are currently fighting for a place in the finals of the World Test Championship (WTC). In order to qualify, the Dimuth Karunaratne need to defeat New Zealand 2-0 and would have to hope that India will lose their fourth Test against Australia.

In the meantime, Sri Lanka currently are leading by 65 runs after Day 3 and needs to post at least 250+ runs in order to keep the Tim Southee-led side under pressure. Blair Tickner, who recently made his Test debut against England, picked up all three wickets in the second innings and will be a key player for New Zealand on Day 4.

Here's how Twitter reacted -

CricketMAN2@ImTanujSingh

Daryl Mitchell in last 13 Test innings: 108, 190, 62*, 109, 56, 42, 3, 6*, 0, 57*, 13, 54, 102. •Innings - 13 •Runs - 802 •Average - 80.2 •100s/50s - 4/4

08:21 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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X10saheb@x10saheb

Come on #newze cricket team you can do it 🙂 to beat Sri Lanka #NZvsSL #SLvsNZ just a draw or win we can go final we we thanku for that gift for us😊

11:11 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Layan Moyura@LayanMoyura

Typical SL performance. Playing well in patches and losing the match #NZvsSL twitter.com/shubhsaraf361/…

Sid361@shubhsaraf361

And it stumps on Day 3 at Hagley ovel NZ. SL 83/3, Lead is 65 runs. #NZvsSL #SLvsNZ

11:08 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Mahin@mahindesilva

NZ playing ruthlessly smart Cricket here. Not giving Mendis and Mathews anything on the legs while keeping the off lines incredibly tight. Batters haven't been able to free their arms for a long time. #NZvsSL

10:21 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Chup Bey!@stud88282483

Daryl Mitchell is one man I know who will never give up whatever the conditions. Mark of a true champion. #NZvsSL

10:16 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Ina Rao H M@inaraohm

New Zealand for the Win......Till now I thought that NZ can make IND out of knockouts only by winning the matches, but I was wrong, even by losing matches they can throw us out of knockouts. Come On NZ, win this match guys. #NZvsSL #SLvsNZ #INDvAUS #AUSvsIND #AUSvIND #INDvsAUS

10:12 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Giri Subramanian (Off Work)@giri26

Can't believe New Zealand actually took lead. What an innings from #MattHenry. #NZvsSL

10:11 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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🅰🅽🆂🅷🆄🅼🅰🅽 🏳️@vishwakarmansh1

Well... At least New Zealand crossed the trailed mark. Great knock by Daryl Mitchell and an even grater by Matt Henry. Let's go NZ! 😅 #NZvsSL #INDvAUS #BorderGavaskarTrophy2023

09:53 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Abhisek Gupta@ABHISTRONG

Kiwi pacers are bowling heart out there after the batting heroics of Daryl Mitchell and Mat Henry . SL are 2 down now.The match I would say in kiwi's hands . #NZvsSL #Worldtestchampionship

09:43 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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Usman Shaikh@shaikusman_7

A tough battle against New Zealand and Sri Lanka is being witnessed.Sri Lanka have kept both their hopes and morale alive to qualify for the WTC finals They are playing with liver. #NZvsSL #wtcfinal #TestCricket

09:42 AM · Mar 11, 2023

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