 "Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1st Test")
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1st Test
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 on Monday.
New Zealand resumed play on the final day needing 68 more runs to reach a victory target of 275. However, they managed to add just four runs before Sri Lanka wrapped up the game in only 3.4 overs.
Overnight batsman Rachin Ravindra, who had kept New Zealand’s hopes alive with a valiant 91 on Sunday, could only add one more 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.
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.
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.
However, 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.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Published: Sep 23 2024 | 3:16 PM IST
