Dinesh Chandimal rises to the occasion, with a 'bit of luck' on his side

"The senior players need to take responsibility because they have played a lot of cricket in Galle," Sri Lanka batting coach Thilina Kandamby had said ahead of the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

Three hundred and six runs later - 240 off the bats of Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews - Kandamby might be justified in feeling his words were taken to heart. Especially considering that that's just 22 runs shy of what the three of them managed across the first Test.

Of the trio, Chandimal was the one rightfully taking home most of the end-of-day plaudits for his 116 off 208. Coming into bat on a hot and humid day in Galle - despite the mid-morning rain intermission - he was in as early as the second over following the fall of Pathum Nissanka. From there he took the attack to the opposition, striking at a shade under a run-a-ball, as Sri Lanka maintained a run rate of four an over for the first 15 overs.

"I had to go in the third [second] over itself after Pathum got out, but even then my goal was to bat positively," Chandimal said after the day's play. "It helped that the pitch was better than the one in the first Test. That one was a bit sluggish, but this one was better in that sense."

After that period, though, as the spinners took a foothold, New Zealand managed to dry up the runs. Chandimal though recognised the change in pace of the game and adapted. Having got to 41 off just 42 deliveries, the next nine runs to his half-century took a further 37 deliveries.

"In Galle, it's a bit easier when the seamers bowl and the field is not so spread out," he said. "So we tried to maximise that period. But once the spinners came on, they made sure that they kept bowling good lines and lengths, and that was why we had to drop down a second gear."

This rounded approach to his batting also afforded him the mental stoicism to put aside a plethora of half-chances, littered across his innings. On no fewer than three occasions he had edges evade the slip cordon, while he also had a leading edge fall narrowly short of short cover. Chandimal however relished these incidents, framing them as necessary aspects of Test batting.

"Things like that need to be there for you to score a hundred. You need to have a bit of luck go your way - you know for an edge to go into a gap or into the ground.

"We try our best to play our shots, but sometimes the ball doesn't go where we intend. At the same time, we have to give the bowlers credit too. They are good bowlers, so it is natural for things like this to happen in an innings."

This was Chandimal's 16th Test ton - his second this year, and fifth since 2022 - but his first ever batting at No. 3. It's not a role he had been keen on adopting in the past having played just 11 innings there, but now it's a challenge he has accepted for both the betterment of the team - with Kamindu Mendis moving up to No. 5 and the gloves being handed to Kusal Mendis - and as something befitting his senior role in the side.

"I have been batting at number five for most of my career, but I was asked to think about the team as Kamindu is an up-and-coming player in Test cricket, and move up to number three.

"With my age, it's also difficult for me to keep wickets as well - I'm 34 now - so I said yes. I took that opportunity with both hands because have to groom young players to take Sri Lanka cricket forward."

It wasn't all good tidings for Chandimal, however, with him involved in Dimuth Karunaratne's run-out before tea. It was Karunaratne's call, as the ball was struck to midwicket for a quick single, but Chandimal was visibly caught on his heels and turned down the run. An irate Karunaratne was well short of his crease having been forced to turn back. And now Chandimal has revealed that he has accepted full blame for the incident.

"I apologised to Dimuth as soon as I came off for tea. Prior to that [the run-out] he was down with cramps, so he told me to let's take only the possible singles and avoid the risky ones. So that single [which led to the run-out] was a quick single and I wasn't ready for it. But that said, it was my fault and I accept it."