Prabath Jayasuriya's heroics help Sri Lanka register massive win over Ireland in 1st Test
Apr 18, 2023
Galle [Sri Lanka], April 18 : Prabath Jayasuriya picked up his second ten-wicket haul in a Test match to lead Sri Lanka to an innings and 280 runs win over Ireland in the first Test here on Tuesday.
Unbeaten centuries from Dinesh Chandimal and Sadeera Samarawickrama after Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis' good knocks had given Sri Lanka a big total on day two.
Chandimal has been in good form in Test cricket, making over 1000 runs in his last nine Test matches, averaging 91 in the format with three hundreds and five half-centuries.
After capturing five wickets on day two and finishing the innings with a seven-fer, Prabath Jayasuriya went on to completely dominate the Ireland batting. Bowled out for 143, Ireland couldn't do much following on and finished on 168 with Harry Tector, Curtis Campher and George Dockrell getting starts.
The innings and 280-run victory provides Sri Lanka a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.
Ireland managed just 143 and 168 in the two innings. The likes of Lorcan Tucker, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher and James McCollum showed the tenacity and resilience required in batters in the longest format.
Tucker's fine century in Bangladesh was followed up by a 73-ball 45 in the first innings here. Tector showed character, facing over 150 balls across both innings.
In six Tests thus far, Prabath Jayasuriya has five five-wicket hauls in an innings and two match hauls of 10 wickets or more. The left-arm spinner, who won the Player of the Match award, finished with figures of 10/108.
He has played four Tests and collected five five-wicket hauls as he has quickly accumulated 43 Test wickets, 39 of which came in Galle alone.
He is tied for third-best in Test cricket history with a total of 43 wickets after six matches. After the first six Tests, only Charles Turner (50) and Vernon Philander (45) have more.
The second and final Test begins in Galle from April 24.
