"India owes you" - Fans delighted as Daryl Mitchell's gritty century leads fightback in 1st NZ vs SL Test

Daryl Mitchell steered the ship out of choppy waters for New Zealand in their first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday, March 11.

The visitors showed great resilience with the bat, registering an impressive score of 355 in the first innings. In response, the chances of New Zealand reaching close to the total looked bleak, given that they were reeling at 151/5 at stumps on Day 2.

However, Mitchell played a wonderful knock to revive his team's chances. The 31-year-old completed his fifth century on the morning of the third day and was eventually dismissed for 102 runs.

The hosts were eventually bowled out for 373 and managed to take a slender lead of 18 runs thanks to a fine 72-run knock from Matt Henry.

Sri Lanka need to beat the Blackcaps 2-0 to keep their hopes alive for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.

With Rohit Sharma and Co. also in contention for a place in the WTC final, many Indian fans were overjoyed by Mitchell's batting exploits. Many supporters took to social media, lauding the Kiwi batter for his stellar performance.

It is worth noting that Daryl Mitchell has emerged as a clutch player for his team and has bailed them out on several occasions with his batting brilliance. With his ton against Sri Lanka, he became the second-fastest batter to score five Test hundreds for New Zealand.

WTC final qualifications scenarios for India and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka are currently placed third in the WTC points table with a percentage of points (PCT) of 55.33. India, on the other hand, have a PCT of 60.29, and they occupy second place in the standings.

India will straightaway qualify for the WTC final if they win the ongoing Ahmedabad Test against Australia. However, their fate won't remain in their own hands if the match ends in a draw or they suffer a defeat.

If Rohit Sharma and Co. fail to clinch victory in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sri Lanka will need to win 2-0 against New Zealand to advance to the final.

The final of the second edition of the WTC will be played from June 7–11 at the Oval in London. Australia have already qualified for the summit clash.

About the author

Aditya writes news, features, listicles, and exclusive pieces at Sportskeeda as a cricket journalist. After completing his MBA in Sports Management from Symbiosis, he started his professional journey and has a total work experience of 5 years, which included a stint at Republic World. Impressively, he has also done exclusive on-site coverage of two T20 World Cups (2021, 2022), the 2023 ODI World Cup, and 5 editions of IPL, and boasts a total readership of close to 14 million at Sportskeeda. He has also played cricket professionally at the AIU Zonal level for Ahmedabad district.

Aditya admires Virat Kohli’s exemplary discipline, dedication, and hard work. Kohli’s ‘Shot of the Century’ against Haris Rauf is a moment that left a lasting impact on him, ultimately teaching him a valuable life lesson that self-belief will always bear fruit. His favorite teams are the Indian Cricket Team and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Aditya believes in sourcing information only from trusted sources rather than any random social media posts on the story and being neutral and honest are his reporting strengths. When not writing, he enjoys playing snooker and pickleball with his friends, and he is also a self-proclaimed coffee aficionado.

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