ADELAIDE: The first session of the first ever day-night cricket test match finished with New Zealand at 80-2 from 28 overs Friday, with Tom Latham unbeaten on 50 and Australian pacemen Josh Hazlewood and Mitch Starc each getting an lbw decision.
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum won the toss and elected to bat, and Australia made an early breakthrough when Hazlewood (1-38) trapped Martin Guptill (1) lbw in the fourth over.
Latham and Kane Williamson (22) combined in a 52-run stand, initially scoring freely until offspinner Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle dried up the run-rate in the second hour. The pressure paid off when Starc (1-14) hit Williamson on the foot with an in-swinging yorker to make the New Zealand total 59-2.
The experimental pink ball withstood the first two hours and didn't really produce any exceptional difference to the regulation red balls. For the record: Starc bowled the first delivery with the pink ball in a test match, and Guptill faced it.
Latham raised his half century with a cut boundary against Lyon in the over before lunch, reaching his 50 from 92 balls. Ross Taylor, who scored a big double-century in the second test, was not out on seven
With the match starting at 2 p.m. local time (0330 GMT) at the Adelaide Oval, lunch was dispensed with and the first break was tea. A ceremony to mark the first anniversary of former Australia batsman Phillip Hughes' death was due to be held at 4:08 p.m.
Australia, which leads the three-test series 1-0 after a 208-run win in Brisbane and a high-scoring draw in Perth, recalled Siddle to fill the void created by the retirement last week of paceman Mitchell Johnson.
Allrounder Mitchell Santner was picked to make his test debut for New Zealand, giving McCullum two spin bowling options.