Sri Lanka handed New Zealand a crushing 10-wicket defeat inside three days on Monday to claim the opener of their two-match Test series and consign the visitors to a fifth successive Test loss for the first time in 57 years.
Resuming at 35 for one in their second innings, the Black Caps were skittled out for just 118, including the loss of seven wickets for 61 runs in the morning session.
Spinner Rangana Herath was once again the wrecker-in-chief, securing the man-of-the-match award by taking 6-43 to follow up on his first innings haul of 5-65. The home side was left requiring just 93 to win and Thranaga Paranavitana (31 n.o.) and debutant Dimuth Karunaratne (60 n.o.) knocked off the runs before the tea break. Herath now has 46 wickets from 7 Tests, one more than Graeme Swann.
New Zealand (I Innings): 221
Sri Lanka (I Innings): 247
New Zealand (II Innings (O/n: 35/1):
Guptill b Kulasekara 13
McCullum c Kulasekara b Herath 13
Williamson c P J’dene b K’sekara 10
Taylor lbw Herath 18
Flynn b Herath 20
Franklin st P J’dene b Herath 2
Van Wyk (not out) 13
Bracewell lbw Herath 0
Southee st P J’dene b Randiv 16
Patel c Karunaratne b Herath 0
Boult c M J’dene b Randiv 13
Total (all out, 44.1 overs) 118
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-35, 3-46, 4-60, 5-70, 6-79, 7-79, 8-96, 9-97.
Bowling: Kulasekara 12-4-28-2, Eranga 4-2-10-0, Herath 18-3-43-6, Randiv 10.1-0-37-2.
Sri Lanka (II Innings):
Paranavitana (not out) 31
Karunaratne (not out) 60
Extras (W-2) 2
Total (for no loss, 18.3 overs)93
Bowling: Boult 4-1-15-0 (w-1), Bracewell 5.3-0-35-0 (w-1), Patel 5-1-22-0, Franklin 3-0-15-0, Williamson 1-0-6-0.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks