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Superb spells by Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya helped Sri Lanka thrash Ireland by an innings and 10 runs in the second Test to clinch the two-match Test series here at Galle International Stadium on Friday.
The host team won all two games of the series at Galle 2-0, winning its 100th Test match and leaving the visitor still searching for their first triumph in cricket's longest format. In an attempt to bat out a draw on the final day, Harry Tector scored 85 and put on a 41-run partnership for the ninth wicket, but Mendis got 5-64 as Ireland were bowled out for 202 in their second innings. In order to put an end to Tector's fight, Asitha Fernando bowled him with a yorker. The very next ball saw him dismiss the last batter Ben White, securing yet another convincing victory. Sri Lanka made their seventh Test total of 700 or more on day four against Ireland, declaring on 704/3 after taking a 212-run lead in the Test match. On 54-2, Ireland resumed its second innings in an effort to secure a draw on a still favourable batting surface. But in just seven Tests, Jayasuriya took out Paul Stirling in the fourth over of the morning to set a record for the fastest spinner to reach 50 wickets. Alf Valentine of the West Indies, a fellow left-armer, reached the milestone eight games earlier, more than seven decades prior. Taking his third wicket of the innings when captain Andy Balbirnie drove one straight to Angelo Mathews at mid-off on 46, Mendis removed first-innings centurion Curtis Campher. Campher had swept one straight into the hands of Kusal Mendis. Mendis then claimed his fourth five-wicket haul by bowling out Andy McBrine and Graham Hume in quick succession. The first Test was won by Sri Lanka by an innings and 280 runs. (ANI)
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