COLOMBO : Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya finished with a match haul of 10 wickets as Sri Lanka crushed Ireland by an innings and 280 runs inside three days of the opening test in Galle on Tuesday.
This was Sri Lanka’s biggest victory margin in test cricket, while Ireland slumped to their fifth consecutive defeat since becoming a test nation in 2018.
Electing to bat, Sri Lanka seized early control of the match and racked up 591-6 before declaring their first innings at the Galle International Stadium.
Captain Dimuth Karunaratne (179) and number three batsman Kusal Mendis (140) laid the foundation for a big total before Dinesh Chandimal (102) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (104) smashed unbeaten hundreds to consolidate their position.
Ireland were skittled out for 143 in their first innings with left-arm spinner Jayasuriya (7-52) being the wrecker-in-chief.
Made to follow on, Ireland managed 168 in their second innings with Ramesh Mendis (4-76) and Jayasuriya (3-56) claiming the bulk of the wickets.
“It’s another test match under the belt for a lot of our cricketers,” Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie said of their experience.
“A lot of us want to play test cricket but we got a real taste of that over the last three days.
“Sri Lanka at home are a daunting prospect for any team, never mind a team that hasn’t played a lot of test cricket.
“Certainly there are learnings but we’ve got to find a way to compete better.”
Karunaratne heaped praise on Jayasuriya, who claimed player of the match award.
“When I give him the ball, he knows exactly what to do, and he keeps doing it. He is very patient,” the opener said.
The second test begins at the same venue on Monday.
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