Sri Lanka celebrated a historic achievement on Sunday, securing their largest Test victory over New Zealand by an innings and 154 runs in the second Test held in Galle, thus completing a 2-0 series sweep.
New Zealand struggled in their first innings, managing only 88 runs in response to Sri Lanka’s formidable total of 602-5 declared. In their second innings, after being asked to follow on, New Zealand was bowled out for 360. Key contributions came from Glenn Phillips (78), Devon Conway (61), Tom Blundell (60), and Mitchell Santner (67), but their efforts were not enough to force Sri Lanka to bat again.
For Sri Lanka, spinners Nishan Peiris and Prabath Jayasuriya delivered impressive performances, with Peiris taking 6 wickets for 170 runs and Jayasuriya claiming 3 wickets for 139 runs.
Kamindu Mendis was named the player of the match for his outstanding unbeaten innings of 182, which propelled Sri Lanka to their massive first-innings total. Additionally, left-arm spinner Jayasuriya was awarded the player of the series title, finishing the series with an impressive 18 wickets.