Jayasuriya grabs five wickets as Sri Lanka win first NZ Test

GALLE: Prabath Jayasuriya took five wickets to steer Sri Lanka to a 63-run victory Monday against New Zealand on the final morning of the first Test in Galle.

Set a target of 275 to win, the Black Caps were bowled out for 211 less than 15 minutes after play resumed, with Rachin Ravindra top-scoring on 92. “When you come to Galle, all that you need to do is to stick to the basics,” said man-of-the-match Jayasuriya.

“The wicket provides plenty of assistance and you just need to bowl with discipline. Your consistency is the key and there was lot of help from the rest of the spinners as well.” Ravindra had finished on Sunday waging a lone battle on a sharply turning pitch in Galle, where the tourists had lost all four of their previous Test encounters.

His knock was the highest score by a New Zealander at the ground, eclipsing Ross Taylor’s 89 in 2019. But the slender path to victory he had opened was snapped shut when Jayasuriya trapped him lbw while trying to defend on the back foot.

The decision was upheld despite Ravindra’s review, and he departed having added just one run to his overnight total. Jayasuriya, who took nine wickets across the match and finished the second innings five for 68, brought the match to an end when he bowled rookie pacer William O’Rourke for a duck.

“Disappointed we didn’t get enough lead in the first innings,” New Zealand skipper Tim Southee said. “We had the game in the hand, but we threw it away.” O’Rourke, 23, had impressed for New Zealand with eight wickets, including his second five-wicket haul from just three Test appearances in the first innings.

“William O’Rourke has been brilliant for us,” Southee said. “For him to come here and do what he did was absolutely amazing. He’s never played in conditions like these... when there is not much for pace bowling. His effort was sensational.”

New Zealand had cause for cheer after fighting on for a fifth day during their first Test in six months on a pitch where they have always struggled. Their scheduled warm-up against Afghanistan earlier in September was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Sri Lanka won the toss

Sri Lanka 1st innings 305 all out

New Zealand 1st innings 340 all out

Sri Lanka 2nd innings 309 all out

New Zealand 2nd innings

Latham lbw Dhananjaya 28

Conway b Asitha 4

Williamson st Kusal b Prabath 30

Ravindra not out 91

Mitchell b Ramesh 8

Blundell b Prabath 30

Phillips c Kamindu b Prabath 4

Santner c Nissanka b Mendis 2

Southee lbw Ramesh 2

Ajaz Patel not out 2

William b Jayasuriya 0

Extras: (b 6, lb 2, nb 1) 9

Total: 71.4 Ov (RR: 2.94) 211

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-51, 3-68, 4-96, 5-152, 6-171, 7-197, 8-203, 9-209, 10-211

Bowling: Ramesh Mendis 25-3-83-3, Asitha Fernando 2-0-5-1, Prabath Jayasuriya 30.4-7-68-5, Dhananjaya de Silva 12-4-32-1, Lahiru Kumara 2-0-15-0

Fall of wickets : 1-6 Conway, 2-51 Williamson, 3-68 Latham, 4-96 Mitchell, 5-152 Blundell, 6-171 Phillips, 7-197 Santner, 8-203 Southee, 9-301, 10-309

Result: Sri Lanka won by 63 runs

Player of the match: Prabath Jayasuriya

Umpire: Michael Gough, Ahsan Raza