Tourists get batting practice in drawn game

New Zealanders 297 (Taylor 75, Guptill 54, Prasanna 3-66) and 240 for 6 (Taylor 75, McIntosh 43, Prasanna 2-52, Randiv 2-59) drew with Sri Lanka Cricket Development XI 330 (Chandimal 109, Dilshan 68, Prasad 73, Patel 3-81)
Scorecard

New Zealand's batsmen managed to get their eye in on the final day of the tour game, which ended in a draw as expected. All of them barring Craig Cumming got starts though only Ross Taylor - who impressed yet again, after making 75 in the first innings - scored a half-century.

SLC Development XI resumed on 324 for 9 and lasted just 15 deliveries. Their bowlers then made consistent inroads into the tourists' innings, preventing any major partnership from taking root; the 58-run stand for the fourth wicket between Taylor and Tim McIntosh was the highest. McIntosh, the opener, scored a sedate 43 to make up for his duck in the first innings while the others got their runs at a fair clip, earning a good percentage of their runs in boundaries. Seekkuge Prasanna, the legspinner, took 2 for 52 to finish with five in the match, and was supported by offspinner Suraj Randiv, who also captured a brace.

After being bowled out for 297, and relying a lot on the lower order to get them there, New Zealand put in a better display with the bat this time. But their inexperience against Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis and Rangana Herath could present them a serious challenge in the first Test in Galle, which begins on August 18.