Yesterday’s first Test match in Galle saw Sri Lanka battle hard to win 63 runs against New Zealand in a match as tense as a tightrope walk over Ravana Falls.
The game’s most impressive player was none other than the cunning left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who used his magic web to seize four wickets in a row. Even though some believed that Kamindu Mendis, the only centurion in the game, should have won the Man of the Match award, it was nonetheless expected when he strode out with the trophy tucked under his arm.
When play started on the last day, the Kiwis needed 68 runs to complete their target of 275, but Sri Lanka just needed 22 deliveries to win the match.
“Spin their way to a gritty 63-run win for Sri Lanka.”
The narrow hopes of New Zealand rested on the shoulders of Rachin Ravindra, who had fought hard to score 91 runs over night. However, Jayasuriya delivered the game-ending punch so quickly that the explosive left-hander hardly had time to blink. Maybe hoping to score a century, Ravindra misplayed a ball that looped into him and got stuck leg before wicket while playing from the back foot. When Jayasuriya is in the zone, fatal for him. The Kiwis’ hopes of pulling off an unexpected triumph vanished in an instant.
In his very next over, Jayasuriya struck out last man William O’Rourke for a duck, swooping in again like a hawk. With that, Jayasuriya achieved his eighth five-wicket haul in Test cricket, adding another feather to his cap.
Only eight runs separated Ravindra from a century. Even so, his innings of 92 did make history, as he became the highest Kiwi scorer at this ground, surpassing Ross Taylor’s 86. The fact that New Zealand has lost all five of the Tests they have played in Galle indicates that no player has ever hit a century here.
With this victory, Sri Lanka also moved up to the third rank in the World Test Championship, behind Australia and India, by surpassing New Zealand. New Zealand, who had been ranked third at the beginning of the series, dropped to fourth.
The second Test will begin on Thursday, and the sides will pick themselves up and remain in Galle. Since 2009, Sri Lanka has not triumphed in a Test series against New Zealand. Six series have occurred in between, with the Kiwis winning four of them and drawing the other two. Will Sri Lanka eventually turn the tables? Time will tell, and maybe a little more spin as well!
