NEW DELHI: Prabath Jayasuriya claimed five wickets, guiding Sri Lanka to a 63-run win against New Zealand on the final morning of the first Test in Galle.
New Zealand, set a target of 275, were all out for 211 within 15 minutes of play resuming, with Rachin Ravindra top-scoring with 92.
Ravindra had battled alone on Sunday on a sharply turning Galle pitch, where New Zealand had lost in all four of their previous Test matches.
His score of 92 was the highest by a New Zealander at the venue, surpassing Ross Taylor's 89 in 2019.
However, Prabath Jayasuriya ended Ravindra's valiant effort, trapping him lbw on the back foot after he added just one more run to his overnight score.
Jayasuriya, who took nine wickets in the match and ended the second innings with 5-68, then bowled rookie William O'Rourke for a duck to conclude the game.
O'Rourke, 23, had shown promise with eight wickets in the match, including his second five-wicket haul in just his third Test in the first innings.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel claimed 6-90 in Sri Lanka’s second innings, marking the best figures by a New Zealand bowler in Sri Lanka since Daniel Vettori's 6-64 in Colombo in 1998.
The second and final Test of the series will commence at the same venue on Thursday.
