New Zealand 412 (Ross Taylor 142, Kane Williamson 135, Rangana Herath 6-103) and 9-194 declared (Taylor 74, Brendon McCullum 35, Herath 3-67) beat Sri Lanka 244 (Thilan Samaraveera 76, Angelo Matthews 47, Tim Southee 5-62) and 195 (Matthews 84, Prasanna Jayawardene 29, Trent Boult 3-33) by 167 runs.

New Zealand demonstrated an all round performance in the second Test, upset the hosts, Sri Lanka, registered their first win of 2012, and squared the series.

New Zealand batted well in the first innings and smashed 412 runs with a ton each from their captain, Ross Taylor, and the upcoming middle order batsman, Kane Williamson. Taylor made a timely declaration in the second innings at 9-194 after having an overall lead of 362 runs.

Sri Lanka was unable to perform against the quick bowling of the rivals, managed 244 runs and was bowled out for mere 195 runs in the second innings thus lost the game by a big margin of 167 runs.

Ross Taylor (New Zealand) was declared ‘Player of the match’ for his superb batting in the encounter as he thrashed 142 runs in the first innings followed by 74 in the second.

Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) was declared ‘Player of the series’ for his lethal spin bowling in two Tests. He was the highest wicket taker in the series by grabbing 20 wickets at an awesome average of 13.90, the best of 6-43 in an innings and 11-108 in a match.

The second and final Test of the series concluded on Thursday, November 29, 2012, at P Sara Oval, Colombo.

Earlier, the Lankan Lions started the fifth day in a difficult situation at 4-47 in 15.4 overs, Angelo Matthews and Thilan Samaraweera were at the crease with one run each. The home batsmen scored one run of the first two deliveries of the uncompleted over and the next four overs ended as a maiden. Samaraweera hit the first four of the day in the 23^rd over but was misfortunately run out for seven runs two overs later as score reached 63. The wicketkeeper batsman, Prasanna Jayawardene, joined in next with Matthews and both of them opted to defend and waste the time.

The pressure kept on mounting on the batsmen who kept on crawling and the first hundred of the innings was posted on board in the 44^th over. The sixth wicket contributed a hard fought 56 runs in 35.3 overs when Prasanna Jayawardene was caught behind by Kruger van Wyk off Todd Astle for 29 off 108 balls with 2 fours. Suraj Randiv was unable to open his account as Nuwan Kulasekara got together with Matthews who secured his wicket at the other end.

Angelo Matthews completed his 11^th Test fifty in the 71^st over while dispatching a couple of consecutive fours. The Islanders went past 150 four overs later when Kulasekara sent the ball flying over the ropes twice and Matthews hit one six in the next over. The mini aggressive innings of Nuwan Kulasekara came to an end when he was caught at gully by Kane Williamson off Trent Boult for 18 runs.

Sri Lanka lost the ninth wicket at 169 when Matthews took over and decided to launch an attack. He punished Tim Southee for 4 fours in the 85^th over and was finally gone for 84 off 228 deliveries comprising 1 six and 11 fours. The second innings of Sri Lanka terminated at 195 after negotiating 85.5 overs and lasted nearly five overs after the tea interval.

Tim Southee and Trent Boult were the most successful bowlers with three wickets each, Doug Bracewell held two and Todd Astle claimed one wicket.

New Zealand won the match convincingly by a giant margin of 167 runs, registered their first victory in the longer versions of the game in 2012 and two Test series was levelled at 1-1. It was the first Test triumph for the visitors against the hosts in Sri Lanka ever since 1998. Last time, New Zealand won against Sri Lanka in the 1^st Test co-incidentally by 167 runs on May 31, 1998, at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo. Stephen Flemmings was the skipper of the Black Caps whereas Arjuna Ranatunga led the Lankan Lions which won the three Test series 2-1 by grasping the next two encounters.