SL vs IRE 2nd Test: Sri Lanka off-spinner Ramesh Mendis claimed a five-wicket haul in the 2nd innings as his team thrashed Ireland to claim an innings and 10 runs victory in the second test in Galle to clean sweep the series 2-0. This was Ireland’s sixth consecutive test defeat since becoming a full-member test playing nation in 2018. This was also Sri Lanka 100th test victory. Watch Sri Lanka vs Ireland Highlights on InsideSport.IN
Ireland batters showed great fight
Beaten by a record innings and 280 runs in the opening test, also at Galle, Ireland put up their highest total of 492 on a batting-friendly track with Paul Stirling making 103 and Curtis Campher smashing 111.
Skipper Andy Balbirnie (95) and stumper Lorcan Tucker (80) also made significant contributions though both missed out on a hundred.
Heading into the final day’s play at 54-2, Ireland could not force a draw despite Harry Tector’s defiant 85 and were all out for 202.
Harry Tector ground out a half-century off 159 balls, and then smashed 35 off his next 30.
He couldn’t quite get us into the lead, but what an innings 👏#BackingGreen ☘️🏏 #SLvIRE pic.twitter.com/wLh8jxOkfR
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) April 28, 2023
Sri Lankan spinners dominate
Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was pick of the Sri Lankan spinners claiming 5-174 in the first innings.
Jayasuriya, who reached 50 test wickets in only his seventh test, was player of the match for his haul of seven wickets.
SL vs IRE: Karunaratne and co torment the Irish bowlers
Sri Lanka racked up a mammoth 704-3 before declaring the first innings with opener Nishan Madushka (205) and top-order batsman Kusal Mendis (245) smashing double centuries.
Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (115) and former captain Angelo Mathews, who made 100 not out, also helped themselves to easy hundreds.
Kusal Mendis bagged the player of the series award for making 385 runs across two innings.
Captains speak
“We have to take the positives. To take it to day five was excellent. We know how good a team Sri Lanka are,” Balbirnie said.
His counterpart Karunaratne was relieved to wrap up victory before rain could interrupt play.
“We knew it could rain anytime, so I asked the bowlers to put in a good session and the bowlers put their hands up,” he said.
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