Ramesh Mendis picked up the 4th 5-wicket haul of his career as Ireland were bowled out for 202, giving Sri Lanka an innings and 10-run win in the 2nd Test between the sides in Galle.
Mendis had come in for some criticism after his performance in the 1st innings, however, bowled with far more control this time around, picking up 4 of the 8 wickets that fell today. It helped that the pitch offered much more assistance for the spinners after 4 days where the bowlers were made to toil hard for rewards.
Asitha Fernando was arguably the bowler of the day for Sri Lanka though, as the quick’s fiery opening spell set the tone for the hosts early in the day. Fernando’s 7 over spell from the Fort end in the 1st session saw Andy Balbirnie having to retire hurt, after he was hit on the grill. The Irish skipper looked shaken and left the field, which opened the doors for Sri Lanka, Prabath Jayasuriya wasting no time to get rid of first innings centurion Paul Stirling to claim his 50th wicket in the very next over.
Jayasuriya thereby became the fastest spinner to reach the mark, getting there in 7 Tests and 13 innings, surpassing West Indian Alf Valentine’s 71-year-old record which stood at 8 Tests.
Fernando continued to trouble the Irish batters, getting balls to whiz past the head and eventually hitting Harry Tector too on the helmet. He was justly rewarded with the wicket of Lorcan Tucker, as the wicket-keeper bat was stuck on the body and saw the ball ricochet back onto the stumps.
He was brought back to deal with the tail and despite some strong resistance from Harry Tector and Matthew Humphreys, managed to blasted through their defences to ensure that Sri Lanka walked away with an innings win.
The Irish fought hard, particularly Tector, who was impressive in the 1st Test as well. The tall right-hander made 85 before he was bowled playing an expansive drive off Fernando. Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne had had a stern word with the batter just before the delivery as he pulled out just as Fernando was coming into bowl, which seemed to disrupt the Irishman’s concentration. nevertheless, it was a commendable effort from the Irishmen, who scored nearly 700 runs across the Test and came into day 5 with a real chance of holding on for a draw.
