On Thursday, September 26, New Zealand's men's Test players donned black armbands on the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. This gesture was made to honor the late Ian Taylor, who recently passed away. Taylor held several key positions within New Zealand Cricket (NZC), including team manager, NZC director, and chair of Cricket Wellington.

The tribute was confirmed in a statement from the Black Caps on X (formerly Twitter), which read: "The Test team is wearing black armbands on day 1 of the 2nd Test in Galle to honour the passing of former BLACKCAPS manager, NZC director & Cricket Wellington chair Ian Taylor #SLvNZ."

Sri Lanka Off to a Strong Start in the 2nd Test

The action on the field was intense. Coming off a 63-run win in the first Test, Sri Lanka made two changes to their squad for the second match. All-rounder Milan Rathnayake replaced fast bowler Lahiru Kumara, while Nishan Peiris made his Test debut, stepping in for Ramesh Mendis.

On day one of the second Test, Sri Lanka put themselves in a commanding position, posting 306-3 by stumps. Dinesh Chandimal led the charge with a brilliant century, scoring 116 off 208 balls before being dismissed by Glenn Phillips. Chandimal’s partnership with opener Dimuth Karunaratne added 97 runs for the first wicket, with Karunaratne contributing 40.

Angelo Mathews provided stability, reaching an unbeaten 78*, while Kamindu Mendis played an aggressive knock, scoring a quickfire 51* off 56 balls. With their strong total, Sri Lanka will look to build on their solid first day as they aim to dominate the second Test.