Sri Lanka (Commonwealth) Sri Lanka’s cricket team won the Test series 2-0 against New Zealand, marking a noteworthy accomplishment. At the Galle International Cricket Stadium, in the pivotal second Test match, Sri Lanka emerged victorious by an innings and 154 runs.
Before declaring their innings, Sri Lanka amassed a whopping 602 runs while batting first, with hundreds coming from Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, and Kusal Mendis.
As a result, New Zealand had a difficult first inning, scoring just 88 runs before being bowled out. With six wickets, Prabath Jayasuriya spearheaded the bowling attack, followed by Nishan Peiris with three.
New Zealand had to bat again to avoid losing, but they could only muster 360 runs in their second inning. In his first Test match, Nishan Peiris claimed six wickets, making history as the seventh Sri Lankan player to take five wickets in an innings.
With this triumph, Sri Lanka has won a Test series against New Zealand for the first time in fourteen years, demonstrating their quality and tenacity.
At the trophy distribution event, Tim Southee, the captain of New Zealand, remarked, “Sri Lanka is a strong team here, and Galle is a tough place to come and play cricket.”
We struggled to make progress since we were on the wrong side of the toss. We had a great deal of difficulty returning from there,” he said.
If not for several dropped catches, Sri Lanka might have concluded the match and series in the morning session.
Santner was let off on 36 in the covers by Kamindu Mendis, who spilt Patel on two at the second slip. Not long later, Peiris blew another opportunity from Santner.
The series victory for Sri Lanka over New Zealand is their first since a 2-0 victory at home in 2009. They won the first game by a margin of 63 runs.
With yesterday’s 360 being their highest innings total at the legendary site, the outcome left New Zealand without a victory in six Test outings at Galle.
With a 2-0 victory over New Zealand, Sri Lanka advanced to the 2023–25 World Test Championship. They are now gaining ground on Australia, who are ranked second in the World Test Championship 2023–25 points standings.
Sri Lanka’s 2-0 victory over New Zealand propelled them to third position in the WTC 2023–25 points standings, with a PCT of 55.56, not too much behind Australia’s 62.5. Conversely, New Zealand dropped to seventh position with a PCT of 37.5.
The remaining games for Sri Lanka: Two Tests in November and December of 2024 in South AfricaJanuary–February 2025: two domestic tests versus Australia
What has to happen for Sri Lanka to go to the championship game?
Sri Lanka must end with a PCT greater than at least one of Australia and India in order to place in the top two. There are two reasons why it is easier to pass Australia. One, Australia is ranked lower on the points table than India.
Furthermore, because Sri Lanka plays Australia, each victory will have an effect on both teams’ PCT. That also implies that Sri Lanka will almost certainly need to prevail over Australia.
Now, they will reach 69.23 and virtually surely make it to the final if they also defeat South Africa 2-0. Australia or India may beat 69.23 depending on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but not both.
Sri Lanka will finish on 61.54 if they draw 1-1 at South Africa. They will get to 64.10 if they triumph 1-0. In the event of a 0-1 loss, they will end on 56.41.
Let’s assume for the time being that Sri Lanka draws 1-1 in South Africa and defeats Australia 2-0. This will, as we have seen, give them 61.54. How many teams are able to surpass them? Even if the Kanpur Test against Bangladesh is rained out, a 3-0 victory against New Zealand would propel India to 75 ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Now, if Australia beats India 4-1, Sri Lanka will be finished ahead of both India and Australia, who will be tied at 60.53 each. In fact, if South Africa beats both Bangladesh and Pakistan 2-0, they will reach 61.11 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In reality, South Africa will advance to 61.11 if they defeat Pakistan and Bangladesh 2-0; in other words, a South Africa vs. Sri Lanka final may occur!
