704/3 (151.0)
CR : 4.66
492/10 (145.3)
CR : 3.38
Sri Lanka won by an innings and 10 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Prabath Jayasuriya
5/174 & 2/88
SL won by an innings and 10 runs
2:39 PM IST: Asitha Fernando finishes things off in style as he nails the yorkers as Sri Lanka wins this game by an innings and 10 runs to win the series 2-0. This is Sri Lanka's 100th win in Test cricket. Great fight shown by Ireland throughout the Test match but Sri Lanka were just too good for them in the end. Lots of learnings and positives to take from Ireland in this Test match.
Let's recap the Test match that we have witnessed over the last 5 days. It was Irish skipper Andrew Balbirnie who won the toss and opted to bat first on a good pitch. Ireland amassed 492 a credible effort from them. They got there thanks to centuries from Paul Stirling (103), and Curtis Campher (111). Skipper Andrew Balbirnie scored 95 as he missed out on his 100. Lorcan Tucker scored 80 as well. McBrine chipped in with 35 as well. Prabath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers as he bowled a marathon spell of 5/174 in 58.3 overs. A couple of wickets apiece for the two pacers Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando. Ramesh Mendis picked up one wicket in the first innings.
Sri Lanka in reply, amassed a mammoth 704/3 declared on the back of twin double centuries from Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka. Mendis scored 205 off 339 balls while Mendis top scored with 245 off 291 balls where he hit 11 sixes. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews also scored hundreds as the Lankans finally declared their innings after 151 overs. It was a hard toil for the Irish bowlers as they struggled to take wickets. A wicket apiece for Graham Hume, Curtis Campher, and Andy McBrine who bowled a marathon spell of 57 overs.
Faced with a deficit of 212 runs, Ireland showed great fighting spirit. The openers went early. But skipper Andrew Balbirnie battled it out and copped a blow on the helmet for his 46 off 101 balls. Harry Tector was the star and almost made Sri Lanka bat as he was the ninth batter out for 85 off 189 balls. A great innings from the youngster. The others tried to hang in there, but it was asking too much as they fell without scoring significant scores as Ireland were bowled out for 202 in 77.3 overs.
Ramesh Mendis bounced back in the second innings and was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/64 in 27 overs. Asitha Fernando picked up 3 wickets and cleaned up the tail and finished with 3/30 in 11.3 overs. A couple of wickets for Prabath Jayasuriya as he finishes with 7 in the match and the fastest Sri Lankan bowler to get to 50 Test wickets. All in all, Sri Lanka will be happy with a 2-0 series win.
Stick around for the presentation ceremony.
Let's recap the Test match that we have witnessed over the last 5 days. It was Irish skipper Andrew Balbirnie who won the toss and opted to bat first on a good pitch. Ireland amassed 492 a credible effort from them. They got there thanks to centuries from Paul Stirling (103), and Curtis Campher (111). Skipper Andrew Balbirnie scored 95 as he missed out on his 100. Lorcan Tucker scored 80 as well. McBrine chipped in with 35 as well. Prabath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers as he bowled a marathon spell of 5/174 in 58.3 overs. A couple of wickets apiece for the two pacers Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando. Ramesh Mendis picked up one wicket in the first innings.
Sri Lanka in reply, amassed a mammoth 704/3 declared on the back of twin double centuries from Kusal Mendis and Nishan Madushka. Mendis scored 205 off 339 balls while Mendis top scored with 245 off 291 balls where he hit 11 sixes. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews also scored hundreds as the Lankans finally declared their innings after 151 overs. It was a hard toil for the Irish bowlers as they struggled to take wickets. A wicket apiece for Graham Hume, Curtis Campher, and Andy McBrine who bowled a marathon spell of 57 overs.
Faced with a deficit of 212 runs, Ireland showed great fighting spirit. The openers went early. But skipper Andrew Balbirnie battled it out and copped a blow on the helmet for his 46 off 101 balls. Harry Tector was the star and almost made Sri Lanka bat as he was the ninth batter out for 85 off 189 balls. A great innings from the youngster. The others tried to hang in there, but it was asking too much as they fell without scoring significant scores as Ireland were bowled out for 202 in 77.3 overs.
Ramesh Mendis bounced back in the second innings and was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/64 in 27 overs. Asitha Fernando picked up 3 wickets and cleaned up the tail and finished with 3/30 in 11.3 overs. A couple of wickets for Prabath Jayasuriya as he finishes with 7 in the match and the fastest Sri Lankan bowler to get to 50 Test wickets. All in all, Sri Lanka will be happy with a 2-0 series win.
Stick around for the presentation ceremony.
Ramesh Mendis: "I am really happy with my performance and team's performance. I bowled at the right line and length consistently. I like bowling here at Galle. I am happy with the way we played in the series."
2:55 PM IST: Time for the presentation ceremony.
Prabath Jayasuriya (Player of the Match): "Thank You. Yes knew it. Yes, actually it was a different wicket to bowl to. It was a challenge and we stuck to the basics and got rewards. I think mainly patience is the most important thing and I had that. The shoulder is good. Thank You."
Kusal Mendis: (Player of the series): "It was a challenging task and I needed to accumulate the runs and changed the batting style to a bit aggressive. I never knew about that six-hitting record."
Andrew Balbirnie (Ireland Captain): "Yes, I am fine. Obviously good spell of bowling and Harry played well. So, all good. Plenty of positives. To take the game to Day 5 and challenge Sri Lanka has been a great effort and I am proud of them. It's not easy making the adjustments and hope to do better. Next up is playing England at Lords' in June. Yes, we have enjoyed playing in Sri Lanka. Good crowd support that we have got and always a special country to play Test cricket in Sri Lanka. Hope we made our people proud with our efforts."
Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka Captain): "I think it was a different wicket from the previous game as it was a bit batting-friendly wicket. The way the fast bowlers and Ramesh Mendis performed was really impressive, especially considering the way Ramesh bounced back.
When I saw that they managed to reach a score of 500, I knew that we could surpass it as well. Getting a good score is essential for boosting the batters' confidence. Even though Dhananjaya couldn't score big this time, I'm sure he will make a comeback soon.
The rest of the team also made good contributions to the score. Given that rain was expected soon, I urged the bowlers to give their best. Asitha Fernando's amazing performance was exactly what we need in away matches. I believe that Ramesh Mendis has the potential to perform even better than that. I am hopeful that he will showcase his true potential in the upcoming series against Pakistan."
When I saw that they managed to reach a score of 500, I knew that we could surpass it as well. Getting a good score is essential for boosting the batters' confidence. Even though Dhananjaya couldn't score big this time, I'm sure he will make a comeback soon.
The rest of the team also made good contributions to the score. Given that rain was expected soon, I urged the bowlers to give their best. Asitha Fernando's amazing performance was exactly what we need in away matches. I believe that Ramesh Mendis has the potential to perform even better than that. I am hopeful that he will showcase his true potential in the upcoming series against Pakistan."
Dimuth Karunaratne receives the trophy for winning the series 2-0. Now, he takes it to his teammates and it's time for them to celebrate as they deserve it. It is their 100th Test win.
So, that's it from our coverage of this second and final Test match of this series. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage. Until next time, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash alongside scorer/analyst Yogesh Kumar. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodbye and CHEERS!