A ninth Test century from Kane Williamson has given New Zealand a 190-run lead in the second Test against Sri Lanka to boost his team’s hopes of pushing for victory.
The 24-year-old was dropped after passing three figures before lunch on the fourth day – the third chance he has offered in his innings.
He and BJ Watling extended their partnership for the sixth wicket to 166 as the hosts went to lunch on 325-5 at the Basin Reserve.
Williamson was 121 at the break and Watling was unbeaten on 76.
New Zealand resumed on 253-5 and were largely untroubled in the session until after Williamson, playing in his 39th Test, had become the fastest New Zealander to reach nine Test tons.
He brought up three figures by dropping the ball to the off-side as the Blacks Caps’ lead stretched to 149.
But on 104 he gloved a ball from left-arm spinner Rangana Herath 104 only for wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene to fail to grasp the opportunity.
Sri Lanka had also dropped him on 29 and 60 on the third day.
Resuming in the morning on 80, Williamson was cautious on a pitch that was given a little extra life by some light drizzle, but not as much as Sri Lanka would have liked and captain Angelo Mathews ditched the slips cordon inside the opening hour as the visitors struggled for penetration.
Watling, who scored a century in the great escape against India at the same ground last February sharing a 342-run stand with Brendon McCullum for the sixth wicket, gave the Sri Lankans no encouragement.
He had no trouble bringing up his ninth Test fifty as the hosts seek to defend their 1-0 series advantage.
Herath, Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker in 2014, posed few issues apart from the Williamson chance.
Meanwhile, problems with the Kookaburra balls used in the Test continued with two more replaced before lunch taking the match tally to six.