Sri Lanka defeated New Zealand by 63 runs in the first SL vs NZ Test of the two-match series on September 23 (Monday) at the Galle International Stadium in Galle. New Zealand’s Rachin Ravindra was the sole half-centurion for the side as the Blackcaps needed to score 275 to win the series opener. Sri Lanka’s left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya stood out with the ball for Sri Lanka as he bagged a 9-wicket haul in the first SL vs NZ test.
With the win, Sri Lanka climbed to the third spot in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points table with 50 Percentage of Points (PCT). They have won four test matches in the ongoing WTC cycle and have lost as many. Before the SL vs NZ test, Sri Lanka had the PCT of 42.86 and were positioned fourth.
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New Zealand, on the other side, slipped to the fourth spot as they now have 42.86 PCT. They were positioned fourth prior to the test match and had 50 PCT.
WTC Updated Points Table After SL vs NZ Test
|
Pos |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
NR |
Points |
PCT |
|
1 |
India |
10 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
86 |
71.67 |
|
2 |
Australia |
12 |
8 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
90 |
62.5 |
|
3 |
Sri Lanka |
8 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
48 |
50 |
|
4 |
New Zealand |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
36 |
42.86 |
|
5 |
England |
16 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
0 |
81 |
42.19 |
|
6 |
Bangladesh |
7 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
33 |
39.29 |
|
7 |
South Africa |
6 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
28 |
38.89 |
|
8 |
Pakistan |
7 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
19.05 |
|
9 |
West Indies |
9 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
0 |
20 |
18.52 |
Rachin Ravindra's 92-Run Knock Goes In Vain As Sri Lanka Win By 63 Runs
Coming to the Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Galle test, Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first. Sri Lanka posted 305-10 in the first innings with the help of batter Kamindu Mendis’ century. In response, New Zealand scored 340 runs with the help of fifties from Tom Latham, Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell.
In the third innings, Sri Lanka once more put up a strong batting performance as they posted 309 runs after fifties from Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal and veteran Angelo Mathews.
Chasing 275, New Zealand lost wickets at regular intervals with only Rachin Ravindra scoring a half-century as he was dismissed on 92. New Zealand began the Day 5 with Ravindra and Ajaz Patel on the crease. Jayasuriya got rid of Ravindra in the very second over of the day inching closer to victory. New Zealand’s William ORourke was the last wicket to fall as Sri Lanka won by 63 runs.