Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne led from the front, scoring his ninth century as Sri Lanka recorded a historic six-wicket win over New Zealand on the fifth and final day of the first Test match in Galle.
Resuming the day on 133 for no loss with another 135 runs to win, Sri Lanka reached the target of 268 with only 4 wickets down in the extended first session. With this win, Sri Lanka bagged 60 points in the ICC World Test Championship.
The hosts lead the two-match series, 1-0 with the second and final game set to be played at P. Sara Oval in Colombo from the 22nd August. Following this brilliant run chase, Sri Lanka surpassed their previous highest successful run-chase at the venue; 99 against Pakistan in 2014.
Read – Karunaratne, Thirimanne set Sri Lanka on course to victory
Karunaratne and his opening partner, Lahiru Thirimanne continued to pile on the runs as the pitch, uncharacteristically didn’t offer the vicious turn and bounce, which it is known for in the past.
Thirimanne and Karunaratne equaled the highest opening stand for Sri Lanka against New Zealand, 161 to set up the perfect platform for the hosts. Left-handed Thirimanne, however, played a sweep and he was struck plumb in front by Will Somerville on 64. The Kiwis had to use one of their reviews to reverse the on-field decision to out from not-out.
Following Thirimanne’s dismissal, Kusal Mendis walked out with only one intent, to go berserk on the Kiwi bowlers. He lasted only six balls and had a six, four and slapped one straight to short mid-wicket.
Photo Album – Sri Lanka vs New Zealand | 1st Test – Day 5
Karunarathne dominated Ajaz Patel and reached his hundred by whipping one onto the leg-side boundary. He also became only the third batsman to score a fourth-innings hundred in Galle and the highest individual score; 122 off 243 balls with 6 fours and 1 six.
He couldn’t see his team over the line with 50 runs to win as he wafted one away from body and nicked behind to become Southee’s first wicket in the match. This was also his first century as skipper, third in Galle and second against New Zealand.
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Kusal Perera, who turned 29 yesterday, switched on the T20 mode at number five. He was given out, off Somerville while attempting a reverse-sweep but Sri Lanka’s review overturned the decision as the ball only gazed his forearm. However, Perera went about his business, trying to tear apart the Kiwi bowlers slamming five fours during his brief stay of 23 off 19 balls.
Former captain Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya De Silva made sure Sri Lanka didn’t have any hiccups in the chase as they sealed off the win amidst grass banks, full of fans after Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) opened up the gates, free of charge.
Sri Lanka will be pleased with their all-round performance as Karunaratne’s dream run continues as captain of the Test team, now winning 3 out of 3.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeet Raval | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Akila Dananjaya | 33 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 39.76 |
| Tom Latham | c Niroshan Dickwella b Akila Dananjaya | 30 | 88 | 3 | 0 | 34.09 |
| Kane Williamson | c Dimuth Karunaratne b Akila Dananjaya | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ross Taylor | c Niroshan Dickwella b Suranga Lakmal | 86 | 132 | 6 | 0 | 65.15 |
| Henry Nicholls | lbw b Akila Dananjaya | 42 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 53.85 |
| BJ Watling | lbw b Akila Dananjaya | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Mitchell Santner | lbw b Suranga Lakmal | 13 | 42 | 1 | 0 | 30.95 |
| Tim Southee | run out (Dhananjaya de Silva) | 14 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 73.68 |
| William Somerville | not out | 9 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 32.14 |
| Trent Boult | c Kusal Perera b Suranga Lakmal | 18 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 81.82 |
| Ajaz Patel | lbw b Suranga Lakmal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 0 , lb 2 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 249/10 (83.2 Overs, RR: 2.99) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-64 (26.3) Tom Latham, 2-64 (26.6) Kane Williamson, 3-71 (30.2) Jeet Raval, 4-171 (58.2) Henry Nicholls, 5-179 (60.2) BJ Watling, 6-205 (69.1) Ross Taylor, 7-216 (73.5) Mitchell Santner, 8-222 (74.6) Tim Southee, 9-249 (83.1) Trent Boult, 10-249 (83.2) Ajaz Patel, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suranga Lakmal | 15.2 | 5 | 29 | 4 | 1.91 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 10 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 3.70 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 30 | 3 | 80 | 5 | 2.67 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 6 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 3.33 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 22 | 1 | 81 | 0 | 3.68 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Thirimanne | st BJ Watling b Ajaz Patel | 10 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 27.78 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | lbw b Ajaz Patel | 39 | 73 | 4 | 0 | 53.42 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Ross Taylor b Ajaz Patel | 53 | 89 | 7 | 1 | 59.55 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Ross Taylor b Ajaz Patel | 50 | 98 | 7 | 1 | 51.02 |
| Kusal Perera | c Mitchell Santner b Trent Boult | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c & b Ajaz Patel | 5 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 26.32 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Kane Williamson b William Somerville | 61 | 109 | 3 | 0 | 55.96 |
| Akila Dananjaya | c Ross Taylor b William Somerville | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Suranga Lakmal | b Trent Boult | 40 | 98 | 3 | 2 | 40.82 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | lbw b William Somerville | 5 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 29.41 |
| Lahiru Kumara | not out | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 (b 1 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 267/10 (93.2 Overs, RR: 2.86) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-27 (10.6) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-66 (22.5) Dimuth Karunaratne, 3-143 (46.5) Kusal Mendis, 4-144 (47.3) Kusal Perera, 5-155 (52.2) Dhananjaya de Silva, 6-158 (54.1) Angelo Mathews, 7-161 (55.5) Akila Dananjaya, 8-242 (84.4) Suranga Lakmal, 9-262 (91.1) Niroshan Dickwella, 10-267 (93.2) Lasith Embuldeniya, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 20 | 4 | 45 | 2 | 2.25 | |
| Tim Southee | 7 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 2.43 | |
| William Somerville | 22.2 | 3 | 83 | 3 | 3.74 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 33 | 6 | 89 | 5 | 2.70 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 11 | 0 | 31 | 0 | 2.82 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeet Raval | c Dimuth Karunaratne b Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Tom Latham | c Lahiru Thirimanne b Akila Dananjaya | 45 | 81 | 2 | 1 | 55.56 |
| Kane Williamson | c Kusal Perera b Lasith Embuldeniya | 4 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 16.00 |
| Ross Taylor | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Henry Nicholls | c Kusal Mendis b Dhananjaya de Silva | 26 | 71 | 2 | 0 | 36.62 |
| BJ Watling | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara | 77 | 173 | 6 | 0 | 44.51 |
| Mitchell Santner | c Suranga Lakmal b Lasith Embuldeniya | 12 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 34.29 |
| Tim Southee | st Niroshan Dickwella b Lasith Embuldeniya | 23 | 62 | 1 | 0 | 37.10 |
| William Somerville | not out | 40 | 118 | 2 | 0 | 33.90 |
| Trent Boult | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lahiru Kumara | 26 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 104.00 |
| Ajaz Patel | lbw b Dhananjaya de Silva | 14 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 60.87 |
| Extras | 11 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 2, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 285/10 (106 Overs, RR: 2.69) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-8 (7.4) Jeet Raval, 2-20 (14.4) Kane Williamson, 3-25 (16.3) Ross Taylor, 4-81 (27.5) Tom Latham, 5-98 (39.2) Henry Nicholls, 6-124 (49.3) Mitchell Santner, 7-178 (69.5) Tim Southee, 8-224 (90.3) BJ Watling, 9-260 (98.2) Trent Boult, 10-285 (105.6) Ajaz Patel, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suranga Lakmal | 15 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 2.47 | |
| Akila Dananjaya | 32 | 4 | 84 | 1 | 2.62 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 12 | 3 | 25 | 3 | 2.08 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 37 | 4 | 99 | 4 | 2.68 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 10 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 3.10 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c BJ Watling b Tim Southee | 122 | 243 | 6 | 1 | 50.21 |
| Lahiru Thirimanne | lbw b William Somerville | 64 | 163 | 4 | 0 | 39.26 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Jeet Raval b Ajaz Patel | 10 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 166.67 |
| Angelo Mathews | not out | 28 | 73 | 2 | 0 | 38.36 |
| Kusal Perera | c Mitchell Santner b Trent Boult | 23 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 121.05 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | not out | 14 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 107.69 |
| Extras | 7 (b 6 , lb 1 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 268/4 (86.1 Overs, RR: 3.11) |
| Fall of Wickets | 1-161 (60.2) Lahiru Thirimanne, 2-174 (61.5) Kusal Mendis, 3-218 (76.1) Dimuth Karunaratne, 4-250 (82.2) Kusal Perera, |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 9.1 | 1 | 34 | 1 | 3.74 | |
| Tim Southee | 12 | 2 | 33 | 1 | 2.75 | |
| William Somerville | 31 | 6 | 73 | 1 | 2.35 | |
| Ajaz Patel | 18 | 0 | 74 | 1 | 4.11 | |
| Mitchell Santner | 13 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 2.92 | |
| Kane Williamson | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 | |
