Williamson joins elite club as Kiwis stretch lead past 300

Kane Williamson passed 1,000 run-milestone in this calendar year on Saturday as New Zealand held a commanding 308-run lead over Sri Lanka at stumps on day three of the first Test in Dunedin.

New Zealand scored 171 for the loss of a wicket after bundling out the tourists for 294, which left Sri Lanka with a run-deficit of 137.

Last innings centurion Martin Guptill was dismissed for 46, while Williamson and opener Tom Latham strengthened the lead by remaining unbeaten on their respective scores of 48 and 72.

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Williamson became the second NewZealander after Brendom McCullum to achieve the mark in a calendar year. He also joined the elite list comprising of England's Alastair Cook and Joe Root and Australians David Warner and Steve Smith, Sport24 reported.

Resuming at the overnight position of 197-4, Sri Lanka suffered a setback at the start of the day as Dinesh Chandimal (83) was dismissed on the first ball he faced.

However, Milinda Siriwardana and Rangana Herath provided some stiff resistance by producing a stubborn 43-run stand for the seventh wicket.

For New Zealand, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner claimed three wickets apiece.