Herath finished with figures of 4-79 off 22 overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Veteran Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath took four wickets to lead his side to an innings and six-run win over the West Indies on the fourth day of the first Test in Galle.
Starting out the day on 67/2, the West Indies, who were made to follow-on after scoring 251 in reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings score of 484, collapsed right from the start of the day.
Darren Bravo showed some encouraging signs before he was caught behind off the bowling of Nuwan Pradeep for 31. The only batsman who rose up to the challenge and fought till the very end was Jermaine Blackwood, who scored 92 off 135 balls, which included 10 boundaries and three sixes.
Blackwood managed to keep Sri Lanka at bay for a while, but since he kept losing partners at regular intervals, the West Indies were bundled out for 227, which gave Sri Lanka a massive win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Blackwood made a gutsy 92
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Herath, who had only taken eight wickets in five Tests against the West Indies prior to this match, finished with four wickets, while debutant Milinda Siriwardana and Dhammika Prasad snapped up two wickets apiece and Pradeep claimed one.
West Indies captain Jason Holder was disgusted with his side’s performance, and said: “We had a lot of things to learn. We did not put enough runs and struggled. We had chances and we din’t take them. Hopefully, we can set things right in the next game. We have to be a lot more confident and decisive against Herath. We are a pretty young team. Hopefully, we can come up with a better show in the next Test.”
Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews was delighted to have taken a 1-0 lead in the series, and said: “We have had some individual brilliance. Dimuth Karunaratne got his highest score, Chandimal played well and Herath was outstanding. You can’t have him out of the Galle Test. He [Siriwardana] was useful and he is a top-order batter. He is a useful all-rounder for us.”
Herath was named Man of the Match for taking 10 wickets in total, and said: “Galle is where I started my career. There is something for me and all spinners. I wish I can reach the 300-mark this series.”