Sri Lanka 102-1 at lunch on the 1st day of the 2nd cricket test against New Zealand

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka lost opener Pathum Nissanka in the first over but recovered and was 102 for one at lunch on the first day of the second cricket test against New Zealand on Thursday.

Dinesh Chandimal, promoted to No. 3 from his usual position at five, scored his second half-century in the series. He remained unbeaten on 60 at lunch, having struck nine boundaries off 99 balls.

Chandimal was involved in a crucial partnership of 100 runs for the second wicket with Dimuth Karunaratne, who was not out on 40.

This partnership helped consolidate Sri Lanka’s position after it won the toss as it aims for a first series win against New Zealand since 2009. Sri Lanka leads the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first test by 63 runs.

Chandimal took a nasty blow to his helmet from William O’Rourke but continued without trouble.

Currently placed third in the World Test Championship, Sri Lanka will be looking to strengthen its standing with a win. Galle has been a friendly venue for Sri Lanka, where the the home side has won 25 of the 43 matches played.

Sri Lanka made two changes from its win in the first test, also at Galle, with all-rounder Milan Rathnayake coming in for fast bowler Lahiru Kumara and Nishan Peiris replacing Ramesh Mendis.

Peiris was making his test debut, while Ratnayake was recalled for his all-round abilities.

New Zealand retained an unchanged lineup as it bids to continue an unbeaten streak in the last six test series against Sri Lanka.

Following defeat in the first test, New Zealand slipped from third to fourth in the WTC rankings. A win in the second test would allow the Kiwis to reclaim third spot.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

New Zealand's captain Tim Southee runs off the field as it rains during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal watches his shot during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

New Zealand's wicketkeeper Tom Blundell celebrates taking catch to dismiss Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

New Zealand's captain Tim Southee runs off the field as it rains during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

New Zealand's Devon Conway runs to field a ball during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne plays a shot as New Zealand's Tom Blundell watches during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

New Zealand's wicketkeeper Tom Blundell misses a possible stumping chance to dismiss Sri Lanka's Dimuth Karunaratne during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal celebrates his fifty runs during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

New Zealand's captain Tim Southee celebrates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka with his team mates during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle , Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal plays a shot during the day one of the first test cricket match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka, right, tries unsuccessfully to catch New Zealand's Tom Blundell, second left, out on the second day of the first cricket test match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Viraj Kothalawala)

Nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Israel has dramatically escalated strikes, saying it is targeting Hezbollah’s military capacities and senior Hezbollah commanders.

Top Israeli officials have threatened to repeat the destruction of Gaza in Lebanon if the Hezbollah fire continues, raising fears that Israel’s actions in Gaza since Oct. 7 would be repeated in Lebanon.

The International Organization for Migration estimated Thursday that more than 200,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon since Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel in support of Hamas after it stormed into Israel, sparking the Israel-Hamas war. Lebanon says a total of 1,540 people have been killed within its borders in that time.

The United States, France and other allies jointly called for a 21-day cease-fire. Lebanon's foreign minister said the country welcomed the cease-fire efforts, and decried Israel’s “systematic destruction of Lebanese border villages.”

Israeli military vehicles were seen transporting tanks and armored vehicles toward the country’s northern border with Lebanon, and commanders have issued a call-up of reservists. Netanyahu says Israel is striking Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.

Here’s the latest:

JERUSALEM — Incoming fire from Lebanon into Israel continued Friday, with one man suffering wounds from shrapnel.

The Israeli military said four drones came across the border Friday, all of which were intercepted. Earlier Friday, the Israeli miltiary said another 10 projectiles came into Israel from Lebanon, with some intercepted and others falling into open fields.

DAMASCUS — An overnight Israeli airstrike on a military site in the area of Kfar Yabous in Syria near the border with Lebanon killed five Syrian army soldiers and injured another, Syrian state news agency SANA reported Friday, citing an unnamed military official.

Israel's military did not immediately acknowledge the strike. Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria and facilities linked to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah but rarely acknowledges them.

Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel’s war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.

Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrians have fled across the border from Lebanon into Syria since the beginning of the week amid intense Israeli bombardment that Israel says is targeting Hezbollah militants and weapons. The strikes have killed an estimated 700 people to date, including at least 150 women and children.

GENEVA — A group of international trade unions on Friday filed a complaint against Israel at the U.N.‘s labor organization in a bid to win compensatation for 200,000 Palestinians who have gone unpaid or seen their benefits withheld after the Oct. 7 attacks.

The nine unions say the workers from both Gaza and the West Bank had been employed in Israel before the deadly attacks by armed militants, but were barred from entering to go to their jobs afterward. As a result, the workers and their familites have faced millions of dollars’ worth of lost income, financial insecurity and no access to remedies through the courts, they said.

“These workers have experienced widespread wage theft due to the suspension of work permits and the unilateral termination of their contracts,” said a joint statement from the unions, whose members are active in industries as diverse as construction, education, journalism, agriculture, hospitality and transportation.

The filing at the International Labor Organization in Geneva, of which Israel is a member country, is based on language in its constitution that seeks to ensure that countries uphold international commitments they have already made.

Such economic woes that many Palestinians have faced come on top of the bloodshed, displacement and other troubles faced by Gaza and the West Bank as Israel continues its campaign against armed Palestinian militants.

BEIRUT — Authorities in Lebanon say a family of nine was killed in an Israeli airstrike in a town near the border with Israel.

The state-run National News Agency reported the deaths in the strike early Friday in Shebaa. It put the strike at 3 a.m. local.

The report offered no other details and the Israeli military did not immediately acknowledge the strike.

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is bracing to evacuate thousands of Filipino workers in Lebanon in case the deadly conflict between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group further escalates, Philippine officials said Friday.

More than 11,000 Filipinos live and work in Lebanon, often as house cleaners. Philippine officials have not yet ordered a mandatory evacuation of its citizens because it was not yet clear whether a full-scale war would erupt, including an Israeli ground attack.

Many Filipinos were adamant not to leave their jobs in Lebanon and return to uncertainties at home, but they have been told to be ready to evacuate any time, Foreign Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega told a news briefing in Manila.

They say “it’s better for them to die in war than to die of hunger,” De Vega said. But he added without elaborating that the Philippine government prepared a contingency plan for a massive evacuation if widespread ground fighting erupts across Lebanon.

Philippine Ambassador to Lebanon Raymond Balatbat told reporters in Manila via video on Friday that many Filipinos there “will only decide to leave when the situation is so bad, when the war is at their doorsteps.”

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of a building in Chouaghir, Lebanon, on Sept. 26, 2024, after airstrikes. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

This satellite image released by Maxar Technologies shows a closer view of a building in Chouaghir, Lebanon, on Sept. 3, 2024, before airstrikes. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Palestinian supporters march near the United Nations headquarters at a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Lebanon's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bouhabib addresses the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Lebanese soldiers cordon off the area at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

In this combination of the satellite images released by Maxar Technologies shows a view of northern Lebanon, on Aug. 9, 2024, before airstrikes, top, and on Sept. 26, 2024, after airstrikes. (Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies via AP)

Municipality workers remove power cables in front of damaged buildings at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburb, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Volunteers distribute clothes to displaced women at a school in Beirut, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A resident checks an apartment that was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut's southern suburbs, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)