<p>Ross Taylor led from the front with an unbeaten 119 as New Zealand ended the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on 223 for two wickets on Sunday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It was Taylor's eighth Test hundred and his third as captain while Kane Williamson was batting on 95 at close which came 9.1 overs early due to rain. The duo’s patient partnership of an unbroken 214 was the highest stand for any wicket by New Zealand in nine matches in 2012.<br /><br />The stand was the perfect response by New Zealand’s batsmen after the debacle in the first Test in Galle, when they crumbled for 118 in the second innings and lost by 10 wickets in less than three days.<br /><br />The Kiwis are seeking to avoid a sixth successive Test defeat which would equal their worst sequence of results from 1954 and 1955.</p>
<p>Ross Taylor led from the front with an unbeaten 119 as New Zealand ended the first day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on 223 for two wickets on Sunday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>It was Taylor's eighth Test hundred and his third as captain while Kane Williamson was batting on 95 at close which came 9.1 overs early due to rain. The duo’s patient partnership of an unbroken 214 was the highest stand for any wicket by New Zealand in nine matches in 2012.<br /><br />The stand was the perfect response by New Zealand’s batsmen after the debacle in the first Test in Galle, when they crumbled for 118 in the second innings and lost by 10 wickets in less than three days.<br /><br />The Kiwis are seeking to avoid a sixth successive Test defeat which would equal their worst sequence of results from 1954 and 1955.</p>