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Prabath Jayasuriya shines as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand in first Test
Chasing 275 for a win, New Zealand were bowled out for 211 despite Rachin Ravindra’s 92. Prabath Jayasuriya was the wrecker-in-chief returning with figures of 5/68 and a match haul of 9/204
Hyderabad: Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya shone with the ball as his five-wicket haul helped Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 63 runs in the first Test match at Galle on Monday.
Chasing 275 for a win, New Zealand were bowled out for 211 despite Rachin Ravindra’s 92. Jayasuriya was the wrecker-in-chief returning with figures of 5/68 and a match haul of 9/204.
It was Jayasuriya’s eighth five-wicket haul with seven feats coming at the Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka won the toss, batted first and scored 305 in their first innings with Kamindu Mendis top scoring with 114.
New Zealand, riding on useful contributions from the top and middle order, scored 340, taking a 35-run first innings lead.
Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews scored half-centuries in the second innings, piloting Sri Lanka to 309, giving New Zealand a target of 275 to win the Test.
However, Jayasuriya, with his sharp turning deliveries and aided by low bounce, spun a web around the New Zealand batters to help Sri Lanka win the Test.
At the start of day five, New Zealand needed 68 runs but only had two wickets in hand. Sri Lanka just took four overs to complete the proceedings.
New Zealand’s chances of a win ended in the second over of the day when Jayasuriya caught Ravindra in front to end the southpaw’s valiant effort.
A desperate Ravindra took a review but the ball tracking returned three reds and it ended all but New Zealand’s hopes. The Sri Lankan spinner then castled William O’Rourke in his next over to seal the deal.
Jayasuriya’s match haul of nine wickets meant he was awarded the player of the match award.
Sri Lanka are now third in the World Test Championship (WTC) points table, behind India and Australia. New Zealand, meanwhile, have dropped to fourth position.
The second Test match will also be played in Galle from Thursday.
Sri Lanka’s last series win against New Zealand came in 2009 post which New Zealand won four series and two were draws.
