SL vs NZ: Prabath Jayasuriya takes nine wickets as Sri Lanka win by 63 runs

Prabath Jayasuriya picked up nine wickets as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 63 runs in the first Test in Galle. Chasing a target of 275 runs, the visitors were dismissed for 211 runs, with Jayasuriya taking five wickets for 68 runs. Rachin Ravindra top scored for New Zealand with 92 runs in the fourth innings. 

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Ravindra fought a lone battle for New Zealand in the fourth innings as the left-handed batsman struck nine fours and a six before getting lbw off Jayasuriya's bowling. Ravindra's score of 92 was the highest by a New Zealand batter at Galle, surpassing Ross Taylor's 89 in 2019.

Apart from dismissing Ravindra, Jayasuriya also accounted for the wickets of Kane Williamson, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips and Will O'Rourke. Williamson (30) and Blundell (30) got starts but couldn't convert it to big scores, while Tom Latham was the third highest scorer for the visitors with 28 runs to his name. 

Sri Lanka batted first and put up a total of 305 runs thanks to Kamindu Medis' brilliant century and Kusal Mendis' half-century. O'Rourke was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets to his name for 55 runs, while Ajaz Patel and Glenn Philips picked up two wickets each and captain Tim Southee accounted for the lone scalp of Dinesh Chandimal. 

In response, New Zealand made 340 runs, with  Latham (70), Williamson (55), Mitchell (57) and Philips (49) making handy contributions. Jayasuriya picked up four wickets at the first time of asking, while Ramesh Mendis took three wickets and captain Dhananjaya de Silva accounted for the priced wickets of Williamson and Ravindra. 

Sri Lanka started their second innings 35 runs behind, but managed to put up 309 run on the scoreboard, and thereby setting a target of 275 runs. Dimuth Karunaratne top scored with 83 runs, while the likes of Chandimal (60), Angelo Mathews (50) and de Silva (40) were amongst the runs. Patel stared for New Zealand with six wickets, while O'Rourke picked up three wickets.  

The second and final Test of the series will commence at the same venue on Thursday (September 26). The victory has helped Sri Lanka to move to third spot in the World Test Championship standings, with a PCT of 50%, while New Zealand are sitting at the fourth position, having a PCT of 42.86%. After the tour of Sri Lanka, New Zealand will travel to India for three Tests, while Sri Lanka will visit South Africa for two-Test series. 

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• Cricket
• SL vs NZ 1st Test
• Sri Lanka vs New Zealand
• Kane Williamson
• Prabath Jayasuriya