LEFT-ARM spinner Prabath Jayasuriya delivered a stellar five-wicket haul in the second innings and nine wickets overall, to lead Sri Lanka to a 63-run victory over New Zealand in the first Test.
New Zealand resumed play on the final day needing 68 more runs to reach a victory target of 275 but only added four runs before Sri Lanka wrapped up the game in 3.4 overs today.
Overnight batsman Rachin Ravindra, who had kept New Zealand’s hopes alive with a valiant 91 on Sunday, could only add one run to his total before being trapped leg before wicket by Jayasuriya. The promising left-hander’s resistance ended as he misjudged a delivery trying to defend on the back foot.
In Jayasuriya’s next over, he bowled last man William O’Rourke for a duck, sealing Sri Lanka’s victory in a tightly contested match and the 32-year-old spinner’s eighth five-wicket haul in tests.
“I love playing here in Galle,” said man of the match Jayasuriya, who now has 88 wickets in 15 matches for Sri Lanka . “There is so much assistance for spin on this wicket, all what you need is to do is to just keep pitching the ball in the right areas and the wicket will do the rest.”
“If you keep doing that wickets will come.”
Although Ravindra narrowly missed out on a well-deserved century, his score of 92 is now the highest by a New Zealand batter in Galle, surpassing Ross Taylor’s 86. Notably, no Black Cap has scored a century in Galle, where they have now lost all five matches played.
Sri Lanka’s win moved them up to third place in the World Test Championship standings, behind India and Australia. Meanwhile, New Zealand dropped to fourth after starting the series in third position.
Playing their first test since March, several Black Cap players put in strong performances, especially pacer O’Rourke who took eight wickets in his first test in Asia and just his third match overall.
“He has really impressed in his brief career, New Zealand captain Tim Southee said of O'Rourke. “The great thing is to come to a place like Galle and put up that performance. He has never played in conditions like these before and he is a good prospect for us moving forward.”
On the back of O’Rourke’s 5-55 the Kiwis managed to secure a first-innings lead, a significant thing on a Galle pitch that becomes increasingly difficult to bat on as the game progresses.
But New Zealand’s failure to break the crucial 147-run third-wicket partnership between Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne in Sri Lanka’s second innings proved decisive.
Both experienced batters scored half-centuries, with Angelo Mathews also contributing a vital 50, helping Sri Lanka set a challenging target of 275. On a deteriorating pitch, that total proved too much for the visitors.
The teams will remain in Galle for the second test, which begins on Thursday.
Sri Lanka will be hoping to win its first test series against New Zealand since 2009. Since then, the sides have met in six series with New Zealand winning four and two ending in draws.
