Prabhat Jayasuriya took five wickets to steer Sri Lanka to a 63-run victory Monday over 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 from overnight, with Rachin Ravindra top-scoring on 92. Prabhat Jayasuriya, who took nine wickets across the match and finished the second innings 5-68, then brought the match to an end when he bowled rookie quick William O’Rourke for a duck.
Star spinner Prabhat Jayasuriya picked a superb five-wicket haul to help Sri Lanka secure a 63-run victory over New Zealand in the opening Test match in Galle, taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series on Monday. Prabhat Jayasuriya’s 5-wicket helped the hosts bowl out New Zealand for 211, successfully defending a target of 275.
Prabhat Jayasuriya was unsurprisingly at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s charge finishing with figures of 5 for 68, his eighth five-wicket haul and his seventh at Galle. He ended with match figures of 9 for 204, taking home the player of the match award.
Pitch and Toss
The conditions look fantastic, the pitch looks good, there’s plenty of grass on the surface which is covered by some brown grass. That means there will be movement with the new ball for the first 30-45 minutes. It’s still a bat first pitch as always at this venue, get 400-450 and bring the spinners into play, reckons Farvez Maharoof, in his pitch report
Sri Lanka skipper Dhananjaya De Silva won the toss and chose to bat with 2 pacers and 2 spinners in his playing XI. New Zealand skipper Tim Southee bowling first also chose 3 spinners in his playing XI.
Day 1 : Kamindu Mendis gives Sri Lanka opening day honours
Kamindu Mendis continued to sizzle as Sri Lanka bagged the opening day honours at Galle in the first Test against New Zealand. Promoted to No.5 after a stellar start to his Test career, Kamindu had to bail Sri Lanka out of trouble and reverse their fortunes as New Zealand lost their grip. Eventually, the home side went into stumps at 302/7.
Pathum Nissanka got Sri Lanka going with three boundaries but William O’Rourke didn’t take long to strike as Dimuth Karunaratne edged one after succumbing to the extra bounce that was on offer. Nissanka was then outdone by an inswinging delivery by the pacer that rattled the stumps as Sri Lanka lost their openers inside the first six overs. Despite that start, New Zealand introduced spin as early as in the ninth over.
Sri Lanka however steadied themselves after those early strikes with the experienced duo of Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews holding forte. Both the spinners did challenge the batters with turn but couldn’t break the partnership as Tim Southee opted to bring back O’Rourke. The pacer hurt Mathews with a delivery that hit his glove and while the veteran looked to carry on, he eventually caved in and had to walk back retired hurt just before lunch.
Kamindu, who joined Chandimal out in the middle, made a fine start but lost his partner at the other end immediately after lunch. New Zealand grew in confidence as it was now Glenn Phillips’ turn to make an impact. Introduced into the attack, Phillips came up with an absolute ripper that stunned Dhananjaya de Silva to breach his defence and knock the stumps. Mathews returned to the crease after this dismissal as the New Zealand spinners continued to create half-chances.
Kamindu remained unperturbed though as he fetched successive boundaries off Ajaz Patel before bringing up a 73-ball fifty. O’Rourke had to return to the attack to break the stand as Mathews edged the pacer behind to depart for a hard-fought 36. By this time, the visitors were in complete control as Sri Lanka lost half their side with just 178 on the board.
However, Kamindu joined forces with Kusal Mendis in the final session to turn the game around. Not only did Kusal make a fine start, Kamindu at the other end hurt New Zealand by finding the boundary regularly. At one point, Sri Lanka were scoring at six an over as Kamindu brought up his century with another boundary, this time off Rachin Ravindra.
He became the quickest Sri Lanka to four Test hundreds as the promotion from No.7 to No.5 was justified. Kusal, who was demoted down the order after being handed the gloves, helped himself to a fifty as the century stand flattened New Zealand.
The visitors were then aided by tremendous luck as Kusal connected a pull off Phillips, only for the ball to hit the arm of the short leg fielder before lobbing up as Southee from midwicket completed the catch. Just before the close of play, Ajaz managed to bag the big wicket of Kamindu but with the surface already playing tricks, Sri Lanka would be the happier unit.
Day 2 : New Zealand cut deficit with Latham, Williamson fifties
After William O’Rourke’s five-wicket haul restricted Sri Lanka to 305 in the morning session, fifties from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson helped the visitors reduce their deficit down to double digits by close of play on Day 2 in Galle. Though Sri Lanka managed to dismiss both, New Zealand carried on through contributions from Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell.
In a rain-addled morning session, the home side added just three runs to their overnight tally of 302/7 as Ajaz Patel and O’Rourke mopped up the tail. There was however, very little action possible in the start-stop session. Following an early Lunch, New Zealand built their innings through successive strong alliances. It began with a 63-run stand between Latham and Devon Conway.
Latham started with two boundaries in an over from Asitha Fernando but the opening pair largely made slow and steady progress as Dhananjaya de Silva tried different bowling options, including himself. Ramesh Mendis broke through soon, as he had Conway trapped leg before – a decision that came about after Sri Lanka took a review.
For nearly the entirety of what remained in the session, Latham and Williamson powered New Zealand ahead. After the drinks break, Williamson gave Mendis the charge and hit him for a six over long-on and pulled the next ball that was short from the spinner, for a four. The former captain forced the spinner to alter lengths and Sri Lanka to find different plans for further inroads.
That came at the very end of the session, when Prabhat Jayasuriya ended Latham’s effort – as the latter’s attempt at sweep resulted in a top-edge that was well-taken by substitute fielder Sadeera Samarawickrama at backward short leg. This ended a 73-run partnership.
On the other side of the Tea break, New Zealand continued to move on in pairs. Williamson had the enterprising Ravindra join him that kept the left-right batting combination going. Ravindra made a streaky start but settled in soon to play a short but swift cameo worth 39 runs that came off just 48 deliveries. In his company, Williamson brought up his 35th Test fifty, before another bowling change from Dhananjaya did the trick.
This time it was the captain himself who broke the partnership, by smartly using the rough patch outside the leg stump of the right-hander. Williamson went to flick the tossed up delivery away but the ball turned and went behind off the edge where Kusal Mendis took an exceptional, diving catch. Within the next two overs, Ravindra was sent packing too – by the Sri Lankan skipper. New Zealand then recovered from the stumble via their fifth-wicket stand.
Daryl Mitchell took on Dhananjaya with a four and a six and made his runs at a fairly brisk pace throughout. Tom Blundell was more watchful of the two as Sri Lanka’s efforts to find a way through one more time before stumps went in vain. Mitchell and Blundell added an undefeated stand worth 59 to take the team to stumps in a strong position.
Day 3 : Batters put Sri Lanka in commanding position on Day 3
The third day in Galle saw Sri Lanka put in crucial performances to pull the Test match back in balance. The hosts finished the day 202 runs in the lead in their second innings, with six wickets in hand.
New Zealand started the day in a strong position at 255/4 but Sri Lanka’s spinners turned the tide, with Prabhat Jayasuriya leading the effort with figures of 4 for 136. He got rid of the dangerous Tom Blundell with a delivery that turned sharply off the surface, setting the tone for a collapse that saw New Zealand lose four wickets for not many runs.
Daryl Mitchell, who had looked in control, was run out in a mix-up, a turning point that Sri Lanka capitalized on. Jayasuriya also dismissed Mitchell Santner and Tim Southee while Ramesh Mendis chipped in with the wicket of Ajaz Patel. Just when New Zealand seemed down and out, Glenn Phillips counterattacked, smashing sixes at will and farming the strike expertly with last man William O’Rourke. His unbeaten 49 gave New Zealand a much-needed 35-run lead.
Sri Lanka lost Pathum Nissanka to William O’Rourke early but Dimuth Karunaratne (72*) and Dinesh Chandimal (54*) then guided them through a wicketless post-lunch session. The duo batted with great control and offered minimal chances against a New Zealand attack that toiled hard on a hot afternoon.
The conditions offered prodigious turn and also a hint of reverse for the pacers but Karunaratne and Chandimal, despite the odd lapse in concentration, did well to keep the scoreboard ticking with fluent strike rotation. Both were keen on putting pressure on New Zealand’s spinners and it even forced someone of Mitchell Santner’s calibre to offer loose balls.
Ajaz Patel and Glenn Phillips also weren’t able to consistently land their deliveries in the right spot, which meant that neither Karunaratne nor Chandimal were put under extreme pressure. The duo batted on smoothly to take Sri Lanka’s lead towards triple figures with their 103-run stand.
New Zealand fought back with quick wickets in the evening session, sending back both half-centurions in the process. When Karunaratne was bowled by Ajaz for 72, a mini-collapse followed and Sri Lanka lost three wickets in quick succession. O’Rourke was again in the thick of the action, sending back Chandimal (caught at leg gully) and Kamindu Mendis (caught at leg slip) in his spell.
But as the day had been, Sri Lanka once again found some bouncebackability, with the experienced Angelo Mathews and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva standing firm and surviving a tricky final phase of play, which saw uneven bounce and turn from the rough patches. Mathews, in particular, displayed immense composure, and even survived a close LBW call late in the day. Batting wasn’t easy on this wearing surface and it will be interesting to see how many New Zealand would be up to chase in the fourth innings.
Day 4 : SL on the brink of series lead despite Ravindra’s heroics
Sri Lanka put themselves on the brink of a series lead in Galle after a productive day saw them put New Zealand under the pump. After setting the visitors a target of 275, Sri Lanka kept striking at regular intervals with only Rachin Ravindra putting up a fight. The young left-hander remained unbeaten on 91 by stumps but with only two wickets remaining, Sri Lanka will fancy themselves to get the job done given New Zealand still need 68 to win.
New Zealand would have fancied their chances after Ajaz Patel struck very early in the day to break the flourishing partnership between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva. At this point, Sri Lanka’s lead was 215. However, Kusal Mendis made a brisk start that took the lead beyond 250, after which he was dismissed by Ajaz.
New Zealand then ripped through the Sri Lankan lower order after Ajaz found Mathews’ outside edge. Once the veteran departed after a well-compiled half-century, Ajaz kept adding to his tally to finish with a six-fer as Sri Lanka got bowled out for 309.
New Zealand made quite a decent start despite losing Devon Conway early as the opener endured a rare double failure. Kane Williamson took on Prabhat Jayasuriya for a six over extra cover and followed it up with a boundary before adding two more to his collection in the following over.
However, it was Prabhat Jayasuriya who had the final laugh as Williamson was beaten comprehensively by a delivery that turned and bounced viciously to get stumped. Tom Latham’s resolve was brought to an end by Dhananjaya before Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell stitched a mini partnership.
Despite losing Mitchell just a few overs before the Tea break, New Zealand were in the game following a spirited partnership between Ravindra and Tom Blundell. The two batters cashed in against pace by fetching three boundaries off a single over from Lahiru Kumara before Blundell took on Ramesh Mendis to grow in confidence. While momentum was on New Zealand’s side following the half-century partnership, Sri Lanka struck again as Prabhat Jayasuriya managed to bowl Blundell round his legs.
Losing Glenn Phillips next hurt New Zealand big time given the impact he made in the first innings. Phillips gave Jayasuriya his third wicket by edging a delivery behind to the slips as New Zealand were now left with just four more wickets with over 100 to get. Ravindra was the key at this juncture for the visitors having already gone past fifty and he did slowly start to open up with more boundaries.
Dhananjaya was targeted by the left-hander for a six and then two boundaries with Mitchell Santner managing to hold forte at the other end. He didn’t last long though as Ramesh Mendis sent him packing and followed it up with Tim Southee’s wicket. With 68 still needed on a surface with plenty of help for the spinners, Ravindra needs to pull a rabbit out of the hat to turn his side’s fortunes on the fifth morning.
Day 5 : Prabhat Jayasuriya spins Sri Lanka to 1-0 lead
It took barely 22 balls on Monday morning for Sri Lanka to wrap up the first Test against New Zealand in Galle and take a 1-nil lead in the series. Prabhat Jayasuriya bagged the last two wickets of New Zealand’s innings to bundle them out for 211, completing a fifer that helped hosts secure a 63-run win.
The final day’s play was tantalizingly poised with New Zealand needing 68 runs to win on a deteriorating pitch with two wickets in hand. However, with Rachin Ravindra having dealt with the conditions expertly on the penultimate day, heading to stumps unbeaten on 91, there was hope for the visitors to put up a fight.
Unfortunately for them, it was nipped in the bud on the second over of morning with Prabhat Jayasuriya trapping the southpaw on the back leg with a delivery that pitched on legstump and straightened. Even a review couldn’t save him.
The spinner could have nearly had William O’Rourke a couple of balls later, but this time the review didn’t go in Sri Lanka’s favour. Nonetheless, the resistance wasn’t to last too long. Two overs later, Prabhat Jayasuriya beat O’Rourke’s outside edge and leaned him up to end the contest.
After having fought so hard the previous day, Rachin Ravindra lasted just eight deliveries into the session, as Jayasuriya trapped him in front with an arm ball for a 168-ball 92. Coming around the wicket this was one tossed up on leg, as Ravindra was caught in the crease playing down the wrong line. He reviewed, but once it was confirmed to be pitching in line there would be no saving him.
And any lingering hopes of a famous rearguard were then swiftly quashed, as Will O’Rourke kept out just five deliveries before the sixth slipped past his forward defence and on to off stump, to hand Jayasuriya his fifth of the innings. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive showing for the 23-year-old seamer, who finished the game with eight wickets to his name – the second-most across the Test, same as Ajaz Patel.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Dhananjaya De Silva the winning skipper said : The win in England boosted our morale, we’ve the ability to win Tests and the boys are delivering now. Big partnerships always help win Tests in Galle (on the partnership between Karunaratne and Chandimal in the second innings), but we can improve in both our batting and bowling.
We were talking about our lower order batting, stats tell that we’ve the lowest average and that’s something we can work on. I wasn’t expecting to bowl, but Ramesh (Mendis) wasn’t at his best and I think I have the ability to take wickets, something I can use for the sake of the team.
Tim Southee the losing skipper said : Good test match, tough place to come. Plenty of positives for us to take away but disappointed to lose. (On Ravindra) We’ve been excited for a while, we’ve seen glimpses back in New Zealand of what he’s capable of. On this wicket, it was a great effort. You look at any game and there are moments, we lost 5 wickets for not many in the first innings after being in a strong position.
We could’ve got a few more out of the tailenders after the position we got ourselves in. Toss is very important in this part of the world, would’ve been great to make first use of a wicket like this. But as we saw, there’s no reason we couldn’t have come out here and won the game if we managed to get a bigger first innings lead.
Prabhat Jayasurya Player of the Match for his 9 wickets said : Normally, I just do the basic things and mainly I don’t experiment during the game. I like this Galle pitch. I just concentrate on bowling a consistent line and length, focus on that and get the results.
t was always going to be tough getting those 68 runs this morning, but New Zealand’s hopes pinned on Rachin Ravindra, but the left-hander was dismissed very early and it took Sri Lanka a mere 29 balls to complete the formalities. Fair to say, they were always ahead of the game, but New Zealand will reflect on day 3, when they let go of a position of strength. At 255 for 4 and behind by a mere 50 runs, they were in a position to take a big first innings lead and then floundered.
They did get a small lead, they kept fighting on, but they were always chasing the match from there on. Chasing 275, they needed a couple of big partnerships and those never came – Kane Williamson, Tom Latham and Tom Blundell, all got starts and all failed to sustain their innings longer. Rachin Ravindra fought hard for his 92, but it was never going to be enough
An excellent Test match this, there were great skills on display, particularly from the batters of both sides. It wasn’t an easy wicket to bat on right from day one but the batters were patient, they deployed the right mix of caution and aggression and it was great to watch. New Zealand fought hard but as it turns out, the minefield at Galle was a little too tough for them to navigate. That said, they deserve plenty of credit because it could’ve been over much earlier had they not applied themselves with bat.
There were some good knocks in the first innings as well and that 92 from Ravindra in the second innings was the undisputed highlight. He looked assured while playing his shots and wasn’t flustered by the numerous instances of the ball beating the bat. Unfortunately, he was fighting a lone battle but New Zealand’s latest sensation has once again shown why he’s rated so highly.
Sri Lanka are a formidable side at home and they’ve just reinforced that belief with this win. While their win in England was impressive, this one was quite clinical. They’ve found a new star in Kamindu Mendis and the batting revolved around him in the first innings before the seasoned veterans stepped up in the second. Their bowlers were always going to come to the party on a helpful and weary pitch so the real positive was their batting unit looking cohesive.
Importantly, they’ve also grabbed some WTC points and they stay in the race for the final – albeit only marginally. Sri Lanka take the lead in the series and the second game is just a few days away. Galle is set to be the backdrop once more for what promises to be another superb game. Can New Zealand show spunk and level the series. The toss will prove crucial once again in the second test starting on 26th September 2024.