1st Test, Galle, April 16, 2023, 10:00 AM
Sri Lanka
591/6(131.0ov)
Ireland
143/10(52.3ov) & 168/10(54.1ov)
Sri Lanka beat Ireland by an innings and 280 runs
Best Batsmen
R
B
4S
6S
SR
Best Bowler
O
R
W
Econ
Man of the Match
Prabath Jayasuriya
Commentry
That concludes this match! These two will meet again on the 24th of this month for the final Test. A chance for Ireland to draw things. Do join us at 1000 IST (0430 GMT). Do join us early for the build up. Cheers!
Dimuth Karunaratne says he wanted to make sure he gets a big one. Adds he has been getting starts but not a big score and he got that here. Says Ireland is a good team, they are a side which is learning and they’ll improve. States the wicket was a good one to bat on early on and they know how to bat here and they used that to their advantage. Credits the way Sadeera Samarawickrama played and hopes he continues to do well and also says the fielding was good overall. Ends by saying Prabath Jayasuriya always does well and he hopes he keeps doing his job.
Andy Balbirnie says they are happy to play Test cricket, it has not been easy but they’ll learn from it and will try to do better going ahead. Mentions they played one in Bangladesh but he feels it is not enough but they need to find a way to compete. States they need to find a way to adapt to the longer format.
Prabath Jayasuriya is the Man of the Match. He says he always tries to give his 100 percent and tries to stick to the basics. Adds this wicket was similar to the one they played on against Australia and Pakistan.
...Presentation coming up...
In reply, Ireland were bowled out for just 143. A few batters got off to starts but none went onto make it big. Prabath Jayasuriya was the star with the ball for the hosts with a seven-fer. Sri Lanka then enforced the ball and it took them just over 54 overs to bowl the Irish out for the second time. This time the wickets were shared between the two spinners, Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis. They took 7 in total with Jayasuriya taking 10 in the whole game. Quite a one-sided win for the hosts to take a 1-0 lead in this series.
An emphatic win for the Lankans and to be honest, this was quite expected. Anything other than a convincing win for the Lankans would have surely been a surprise. They have dominated the Test right from Day 1. After electing to bat, they batted for around 130 overs and scored 9 short of 600 before declaring. 4 of their batters scored tons. Dimuth Karunaratne was the top scorer with 179.
In over# 55
0W
Prabath Jayasuriya 56/3(24.1)
54.1
W
OUT! LBW! That should do it! White though takes the review. Tossed up angling on middle. White defends with his bat in front of the pads and gets beaten on the outside edge to get hit on the back pad. An appeal and up goes the finger. No bat on UltraEdge. Ball Tracking shows three reds yet again. Out it is. Sri Lanka win by an innings and 280 runs.
In over# 54
1
0W
1
0
1
1
Ramesh Mendis 76/4(20)
53.6
1
Full and around off. White inside edges his push to square leg for one.
53.5
W
OUT! LBW! Dockrell is given out but he will review this one! Tossed up, full and on off, it lands and spins in. Dockrell leans to defend but misses and gets hit on the pads. No bat involved. Ball Tracking shows THREE REDS. Wonderful bowling from Mendis who gets rid of Dockrell.
53.4
1
Full and outside off. Adair works it to long off for one.
53.3
.
Down the leg side. Adair lets it go.
53.2
1
On middle, this is hit to square leg for one.
53.1
1
On middle, tucked to square leg for one.
In over# 53
0
4
0
0
0
0
Prabath Jayasuriya 56/2(24)
52.6
.
This is full and outside off. Dockrell looks to defend but gets an outside edge just wide of the man at short gully.
52.5
4
FOUR! Good shot! Tossed up, outside off. Dockrell slams it past mid on for four.