Sri Lanka v Australia - Only Test

Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy

Sri Lanka: MS Atapattu, UC Hathurusingha, AP Gurusinha, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, +RS Kaluwitharana, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, GP Wickramasinghe.
Australia: WM Woodfull, AR Morris, *IM Chappell, GS Chappell, SR Waugh, KD Walters, +RW Marsh, RR Lindwall, SK Warne, CV Grimmett, GD McGrath.

Debuts: MS Atapattu (SL); IM Chappell, KD Walters, SK Warne & GD McGrath (AUS)
Umpires: HD Bird (ENG) & S Kishen (IND)
Toss: Australia

Australia sent what was very much a shadow squad on this, their first ever trip to Sri Lanka, but with the illustrious quartet of Ian Chappell, Doug Walters, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath all making their debuts the team was hardly weakened. Ian Chappell also had the honour of captaining the side, and he rounded off a memorable first day by sharing in a century stand with brother Greg before completing a chanceless hundred off just 133 balls shortly after tea. Australia lost five wickets in the final session though, subsiding from 254-3 to 319-8 in the process, but on a dry and cracked pitch Messrs Warne and Grimmett were expected to put a seemingly disappointing score into a somewhat different perspective on day two.

Ian Chappell made the perfect start to what is likely
to be a short-lived career as Australian captain

Australia were eventually bowled out on the second morning for 346, a challenging if not dominant total on this pitch, and after the opening pair of Atapattu - on debut - and Hathurusingha both fell in the 20s, Gurusinha and de Silva upped the pace and took the score to 143-2 before Lindwall bowled both of them in consecutive overs before tea. Lindwall was by far the pick of the Australian attack at this stage, but in the evening session McGrath finally found his rhythm and wickets continued to fall. Tillakaratne held firm though, and in partnership with Ravi Ratnayeke he set about salvaging the innings from the depths of 215-7. Their eighth wicket partnership had reached exactly 100 before McGrath finally induced a catch in the gully to dismiss the battling Ratnayeke - who had been dropped by Woodfull when on 5 - for 49 shortly after lunch on day three, but Tillakaratne was able to press on to a thoroughly deserved century, and Sri Lanka secured their first ever first innings lead as last man Wickramasinghe contributed a career best 24 to a last wicket stand of 53.

Lindwall apart, Australia had not bowled well, and Sri Lanka's total of 386 - the highest in their eight Test history - gave them a 40 run lead at the game's halfway stage. Australia's top three batsmen then all threw away starts as their second innings stuttered to 97-3, but day four of this see-sawing Test was dominated by the tourists as Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh got their heads down and batted with great composure to snuff out any chance the Lankans might have had of forcing victory.

Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh batted remorselessly on the fourth day

Both players reached three figures as their fourth wicket partnership swelled to 208, and with the pitch playing better than anyone had expected the home bowlers were unable to create a single chance. The score had moved on to 305-3 when Chappell finally departed, playing on for 113 in Wickramasinghe's second over with the second new ball, but Waugh continued on into the evening session and, along with Marsh, helped take the total past 400 before a late shower brought on the declaration, Sri Lanka being set the unlikely target of 371 to win in just over a day.

It was soon obvious that the draw was to be the limit of the hosts' ambitions, and by lunch on the final day they had progressed to 102-3, a score that meant the game was still very much in the balance. Shane Warne was enjoying an enthralling joust with Aravinda de Silva, and with his score on 49 Sri Lanka's pocket dynamo offered a chance to Greg Chappell at slip, but the ball went to ground and Sri Lanka had been thrown a lifeline. De Silva and Ranatunga batted on past tea, taking their fourth wicket partnership past the hundred mark in the process, and although Warne managed to complete his five-for on debut with three wickets, including de Silva for 94, in the evening session, Sri Lanka held on with relative ease for a morale boosting draw. Ranatunga was still there at the close, undefeated on 81 after four and a half hours at the crease, and Season 6 ends on note of unexpected optimism for ATG cricket's new boys.

It was de Silva to the rescue as Sri Lanka secured an honourable draw

Score Summary
AUS 1st Inns 346 (IM Chappell 104, GS Chappell 52, Waugh 43)
SL 1st Inns 386 (Tillakaratne 131*, PA de Silva 49, Ratnayeke 49, Gurusinha 43; McGrath 4-102)
AUS 2nd Inns 410-6 dec. (Waugh 128, GS Chappell 113, Morris 49, Marsh 42*)
SL 2nd Inns 295-6 (PA de Silva 94, Ranatunga 81*; Warne 5-86)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - Australia 1st innings 319-8 (Warne 5*; 99 ov)
Day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 243-7 (Tillakaratne 57*, Ratnayeke 10*; 80 ov)
Day 3 - Australia 2nd innings 113-3 (GS Chappell 6*, Waugh 10*; 32.4 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 8-0 (Atapattu 2*, Hathurusingha 6*; 4 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 295-6 (105 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Sri lanka's 386 in the first innings is their highest ever total
▪ Tillakaratne and Ratnayeke's partnership of 100 is Sri Lanka's highest for the eighth wicket
▪ Sri Lanka took a 1st innings lead for the first time
▪ IM Chappell is the sixth Australian, and eighteenth overall, to score a century on debut and the first player to captain on debut, other than in a country's inaugural Test
▪ SK Warne is the first Australian, and eleventh overall, to take five wickets in an innings on debut
▪ GS Chappell made his 50th appearance for Australia

Man of the Match: HP Tillakaratne

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Series Summary

NEW ZEALAND WON THE SERIES 1-0
Being able to write 'New Zealand won' is a rare event in the ATG world, but it happened twice when Jack Cowie took the final wicket in Hamilton, with New Zealand's victory there - just their sixth in 55 Tests - sealing their first ever series success. The fact that the opponents were Sri Lanka and that the series consisted of just two Tests must be taken into consideration, but when you have fed on scraps for so long you don't turn down any morsel that comes your way.

John Reid's two centuries will ensure that he retains the captaincy for a little while longer, and the form shown by Chris Cairns would suggest that New Zealand are now able to field three allrounders worthy of the name. The third member of the trio, Richard Hadlee, took his seasonal wicket haul past the fifty mark in Hamilton, but with Stephen Boock remaining out of both form and favour the Kiwi selectors continue to struggle to find a spinner capable of supporting their seamers on a consistent basis, with Hedley Howarth claiming just three wickets in the two Tests.

Aravinda de Silva showed his class by saving the first Test with twin centuries, and his absence through injury severely compromised Sri Lanka's chances in the second game. Indeed, for such a short tour the visitors had to cope with a number of injuries, and the loss of Wickramasinghe for the Tests, whilst probably not affecting the final outcome, certainly weakened their bowling attack. De Silva apart, Chandika Hathurusingha, with fifties in both matches, was the only other Sri Lankan to enhance his reputation over the course of the series, and even though Australia are not expected to field a full strength XI for the upcoming one-off Test in Kandy, one would not bank on Sri Lanka to break their ATG duck any time soon.

Series Averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: JR Reid & PA de Silva

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Second Test

Seddon Park, Hamilton

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, AP Gurusinha, RL Dias, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, +HM Goonatilleke, RJ Ratnayake, ALF de Mel.

Debuts: HM Goonatilleke (SL)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: New Zealand

Sri Lanka's injury crisis continued ahead of the second Test - Rumesh Ratnayake and Gurusinha returned but Dharmasena (shoulder) and, crucially, Aravinda de Silva (finger) were ruled out - and wicket keeper Mahes Goonatilleke made his debut after being hurriedly flown out to bolster the squad. John Reid won the toss for an unchanged New Zealand, and two days of hard toil later Goonatilleke must have been wishing he had stayed at home as the Kiwis surpassed the record total that they had posted in the previous game, although to his credit he only conceded one bye out of a mammoth total of 623.

All this came after the hosts had been reduced to 139-4 midway through the first afternoon, at which time Sri Lanka looked like they could really make inroads into the match. The pitch was not to blame though, and New Zealand's fifth wicket pair of Donnelly and Reid batted faultlessly in compiling a partnership of 230, a national record for any wicket. Both players made centuries, Donnelly extending his to a dominant 151, and Sri Lanka's attack looked wholly impotent as the runs flowed. The scoreboard read 369-5 when de Silva finally broke through by bowling Reid on the stroke of lunch on day two, and it had moved round to 475-8 when Jack Cowie joined Ian Smith at the crease shortly before tea. New Zealand's ninth wicket pair then proceeded to rub salt into what were already deep Sri Lankan wounds by equalling the ATG record with a partnership of 124 before Smith fell to the third new ball just seven short of a maiden hundred, and Cowie was able to raise his first ever fifty in partnership with last man Howarth as the Sri Lankans were brought to their metaphorical and, in some cases, literal knees.

Jack Cowie poses with his wonderbat!

Sri Lanka began their reply on the third morning, and as only could have been be expected they crumbled under the sheer weight of all those Kiwi runs. New Zealand bowled well, but the level of application and belief shown by the tourists was disappointing to say the least, with Gurusinha's dismissal typifying Sri Lanka's plight. He top-edged a catch off an ill-advised hook shot having made 59 when he should have been aiming for 159, and it was not until a gallant last wicket stand of 58 between Goonatilleke and de Mel that we saw anything like the type of attitude that was needed.

An all out total of 249 allowed John Reid to enforce the follow-on for the first time in New Zealand's history, and with a deficit of 374 it was the same story in Sri Lanka's second innings as the top order all got in only to get themselves out when set. Rain sent the match into a fifth day with Hashan Tillakaratne the last remaining hope for the tourists, and although he managed to complete his fifty, Hadlee and Cowie reduced the innings from 200-5 to 207-9 as the new ball cut a swathe through the tail on the final morning, Hadlee picking up his third five wicket haul of the Antipodean summer. The Blackcaps were made to wait until after lunch to claim the final wicket, but when Goonatilleke edged Cowie behind the party could finally begin, and although the opposition had only been Sri Lanka, New Zealand's first ever series victory in this, the sixth season of ATG cricket, was still a cause for celebration. Sri Lanka now head home for a one-off Test against Australia, whilst New Zealand will be able to look forward to next season, as they always seem to do, with a reserved air of optimism.

Hadlee's last five Tests have brought him
37 wickets and, finally, an elusive series victory

Score Summary
NZL 1st Inns 623 (Donnelly 151, Reid 114, Smith 93, Cowie 59, Congdon 42; Ratnayeke 4-136)
SL 1st Inns 249 (Gurusinha 59, Goonatilleke 42*)
SL 2nd Inns 217 (Tillakaratne 55, Hathurusingha 54; Hadlee 5-52, Cowie 4-61)

NEW ZEALAND WON BY AN INNINGS & 157 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - New Zealand 1st innings 319-4 (Donnelly 93*, Reid 86*; 95 ov)
Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 623 (171 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 244-9 (Goonatilleke 42*, de Mel 18*; 90 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 171-5 (Tillakaratne 37*, de Silva 7*; 66 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 217 (98.4 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ New Zealand's series victory is the first in their history
▪ New Zealand's 623 is their highest ever total
▪ Donnelly & Reid's fifth wicket partnership of 230 is New Zealand's highest for any wicket
▪ Smith & Cowie's partnership of 124 equals the world record for the ninth wicket
▪ New Zealand enforced the follow-on for the first time in their history
▪ Goonatilleke and de Mel's partnership of 58 is a Sri Lankan record for the tenth wicket
▪ Crowe made his 50th appearance for New Zealand

Man of the Match: MP Donnelly

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - First Test

Carisbrook, Dunedin

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, +HP Tillakaratne, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, ALF de Mel, CPH Ramanayake.

Debuts: CPH Ramanayake (SL)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: New Zealand

Injury-hit Sri Lanka entered their first ever Test against New Zealand with only eleven fit players, and on a flat track New Zealand racked up the highest total in their history before John Reid declared at tea on the second day, leaving himself undefeated on 130 out of a mammoth 576-7. Turner had earlier contributed 107 as he and Dempster put on 170 for the first wicket, and Congdon was denied a century on recall when, on 99, he was caught at short leg off DS de Silva. Ranatunga was on the defensive in the field from an early stage, and whilst the boundaries may have been protected the runs kept coming. Congdon and Donnelly added 145 for the fourth wicket and then Reid and Cairns piled on 168, New Zealand's second best sixth wicket partnership, both players recording their highest ever scores in the process.

All that net practice paid off for John Reid

Sri Lanka fought back well in reply to New Zealand's huge total, Mahanama's typically flamboyant 75 getting them off to a fine start, and following his dismissal during a rain-shortened morning session Aravinda de Silva took over with stroke play that became ever more audacious as his innings progressed. He took just eight balls to move from 77 to 100 and then followed this up by lofting Hadlee for consecutive sixes as the tourists moved on to a relatively healthy 276-4 by tea on the third day. Reid took the new ball at this stage, and under the cloud cover that had hung around for most of the day, wickets started to fall. Chris Cairns bowled superbly to snare the best figures of his fledgling ATG career, but the last pair of de Mel and the debutant Ramanayake managed to cling on into the fourth day, and a tenth wicket stand of 32 saved the follow-on as Sri Lanka reached 382, their highest ever total.

New Zealand still had a lead of 194, and quick runs were now the order of the day if the Blackcaps were going to have enough time to bowl out the tourists for a second time on the final day. The Sri Lankans bowled well though, and only Crowe was truly able to dominate with an undefeated 71 as New Zealand made their way to a rather ponderous 209-6 before Reid declared with an hour's play remaining on the fourth evening. DS de Silva extracted three lbw decisions from Douglas Sang Hue, including Donnelly first ball, to hinder New Zealand's progress, and the Sri Lankans were presented with a target of 404 off a minimum of 103 overs to record their first ever ATG Test victory. Their attempt started disastrously when Mahanama and Dias were dispatched with just six runs on the board, but Hathurusingha and Aravinda de Silva rallied with a third wicket partnership of 142 and the chase was on.

Aravinda de Silva batted beautifully
for Sri Lanka in both innings

De Silva was not quite as fluent as in the first innings but he still managed to pick his way to his second century of the match, and although he was out shortly afterwards a tea time score of 241-4 meant that the tourists retained an outside chance of victory. Sri Lanka's tactics changed after the break though, and their switch to a defensive mindset actually played into New Zealand's hands as Reid was able to attack with the new ball. Cairns delivered a remarkable spell of 3-0 in twelve balls as five wickets tumbled for just sixteen runs, and with the haven of a draw in sight Sri Lanka now looked like falling at the final hurdle.

The last pair of de Mel and Ramanayake had done their team proud in the first innings, and with the scoreboard reading 286-9 they would now need to survive for 41 balls if the tourists were to escape with the draw. Ball beat bat on numerous occasions but for the second time in the match they held on, and when de Mel jammed his bat down on Reid's final delivery the Sri Lankans celebrated as if they had won the match. Once again New Zealand had let a possible victory slip through their fingers, and it will be a case of winner takes all when the teams meet in Hamilton for the second and final Test.

New Zealand were unable to force victory
despite the all round efforts of Chris Cairns

Score Summary
NZL 1st Inns 576-7 dec. (Reid 130*, Turner 107, Congdon 99, Dempster 88, Donnelly 82, Cairns 57)
SL 1st Inns 382 (PA de Silva 131, Mahanama 75; Cairns 4-84)
NZL 2nd Inns 209-6 dec. (Crowe 71*, Dempster 63)
SL 2nd Inns 296-9 (PA de Silva 105, Hathurusingha 72, Ranatunga 58)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - New Zealand 1st innings 330-3 (Congdon 59*, Donnelly 68*; 101 ov)
Day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 99-1 (Mahanama 61*, Dias 7*; 29 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 363-9 (de Mel 14*, Ramanayake 5*; 109 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 48-2 (Hathurusingha 20*, PA de Silva 22*; 15 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 296-9 (105 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Sri Lanka avoided defeat for the first time in six attempts
▪ New Zealand's 576-7 is their highest ever total
▪ Sri Lanka's 382 is their highest ever total
▪ Congdon passed 2000 career runs
▪ Aravinda de Silva is the eighth player, and the first Sri Lankan, to score two hundreds in a Test

Man of the Match: PA de Silva

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Tour Match

South Island v Sri Lankans
University Oval, Dunedin
3 Day Game
Umpires: DEA Copps & WT Martin
Toss: Sri Lankans

South Island: GT Dowling, *WA Hadlee, KR Rutherford, BF Hastings, NJ Astle, V Pollard, +WK Lees, TB Burtt, DR Hadlee, FJ Cameron, SB O'Connor.
Sri Lankans: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, +RS Kaluwitharana, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, CPH Ramanayake, GP Wickramasinghe.

Sri Lanka's warm up game ahead of their two Test series against New Zealand was a turgid affair, played on a flat, unyielding surface in front of a sparse crowd at the University Oval. Roy Dias played the stand-out innings on the opening day, his 114 reviving the tourists' fortunes after they had slumped to 29-3, and his fourth wicket partnership of 179 with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga (84) underlined just what a toil it all was for the bowlers on this pitch. Tillakaratne and Kaluwitharana added a further 108 in enterprising fashion before stumps, and an overnight declaration closed the innings on 365-6, a total that the South Islanders would go on to match exactly over the course of the next four sessions.

A century from Roy Dias was one of few
highlights in a dull tour opener in Dunedin

Dowling dropped anchor to record a dour 84, and with Sri Lanka's attack looking every bit as toothless as their Kiwi counterparts, Rutherford, Astle and Lees all helped themselves to fifties, although it must be said that the visitors' bowlers did at least manage to keep the scoring rate down, with Wickramasinghe looking the pick of the bunch. Walter Hadlee declared at lunch on the final day with the scores level, and although the Sri Lankans wobbled somewhat in their second innings, stumbling to tea at 64-4, a robust 41 from Ranatunga allayed any fears of an embarrassing collapse and the game petered out into an inevitable draw, the tourists having crawled to 155-7 before rain ended proceedings mercifully early for the few spectators that had stayed on. The teams remain in Dunedin for the first Test, which is to be played at Carisbrook, and one can only hope that the Tests serve up more entertaining fare than the cricket that was on display here.

Score Summary
SL 1st Inns 365-6 dec. (Dias 114, Ranatunga 84, Tillakaratne 77*, Kaluwitharana 55)
SI 1st Inns 365-6 dec. (Dowling 84, Astle 83, Rutherford 63, Lees 57*)
SL 2nd Inns 155-7 (Ranatunga 41)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of Play

Day 1 - Sri Lankans 1st innings 365-6 (Tillakaratne 77*, Ratnayeke 11*; 96 ov)
Day 2 - South Island 1st innings 257-5 (Astle 26*, Lees 6*; 92 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lankans 2nd innings 155-7 (65.5 ov) - end of match

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Series Preview

On face value a battle of the basement between ATG cricket's two lowest ranked teams is unlikely to whet many appetites, but in actual fact the two Tests that make up the series should provide plenty of competitive action for both the committed and the casual spectator alike. For New Zealand, this is their best chance yet of securing a first ever ATG series victory, whilst the Sri Lankans will be looking to avoid defeat for the first time after losing each of their first five Tests.

The New Zealand selectors are expected to retain faith with the majority of the squad that was engaged against West Indies, but John Reid's position is under review once again after a poor personal performance in that series and an overall record that now reads just three wins in thirty three Tests as captain, although it must be said that there are few, if any, obvious candidates to take over the reins should the axe fall.

John Reid and Arjuna Ranatunga will both be hoping to lead
their countries to what would be a first ever ATG series win

As for Sri Lanka, this will be the first time that they enter a series with expectation as well as hope, and if their bowlers can at last find some penetration on wickets that should suit them then we could be in for some interesting cricket over the course of the two Tests.

Current form (most recent result first)
New Zealand LDLDL
Sri Lanka LLLLL

Sri Lanka squad
A Ranatunga (c), HP Tillakaratne (v/c), ALF de Mel DS de Silva, PA de Silva, RL Dias, HDPK Dharmasena, AP Gurusinha, UC Hathurusingha, RS Kaluwitharana, RS Mahanama, CPH Ramanayake, RJ Ratnayake, JR Ratnayeke, GP Wickramasinghe.

Itinerary
- Tour Match v South Island (Dunedin)
- 1st TEST (Dunedin)
- 2nd TEST (Hamilton)

India v Sri Lanka - Only Test

MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai

India: SM Gavaskar, +FM Engineer, DB Vengsarkar, VL Manjrekar, PR Umrigar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, M Prabhakar, J Srinath, DR Doshi, BS Chandrasekhar.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, +RS Kaluwitharana, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, RJ Ratnayake, GP Wickramasinghe.

Debuts: VL Manjrekar & DR Doshi (IND)
Umpires: Mahboob Shah (PAK) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: India

Sri Lanka's first Test against India was played on a flat, slow wicket in Chennai, and as admirably as the tourists' bowlers stuck to their task the Indians ground their way to a first innings total of 503 before Pataudi declared on the second evening. Engineer's 82 gave India a brisk start, but Vengsarkar looked less than impressive, and despite reaching 72 his scratchy performance will have done little to push his claim for a place on the upcoming tour of West Indies. Polly Umrigar joined debutant Vijay Manjrekar upon Vengsarkar's dismissal at 217-3, and together the pair added 181 as the hosts batted themselves into a very strong position.

Vijay Manjekar unleashes a rare attacking stroke

Umrigar posted a fluent 144, his highest ATG score, and Manjekar marked his debut with a century of his own, but it was more a feeling of relief than anything else when he finally got there, having faced 272 deliveries after five and a quarter hours at the crease. India's progress meandered somewhat once the partnership was broken, but following Pataudi's declaration Chandrasekhar removed the dangerous Mahanama before stumps, and an attritional third day saw Sri Lanka edge towards saving the follow-on, thanks in the main to Hathurusingha's maiden ATG century.

Sri Lanka were a perilous 82-4 at one stage but Hathurusingha held firm, taking 150 balls to get to 50, and after being dropped twice in consecutive overs he moved through the gears, needing just 63 more deliveries to able to raise his bat to the crowd once again. A trademark inducker from Prabhakar cleaned him up almost immediately after though, but a 69 run stand for the seventh wicket between Tillakaratne and Kaluwitharana took the score to 262-7, and by the close of play on day three the Sri Lankans were just 6 runs away from avoiding the follow-on with their last pair at the wicket.

Hathurusingha's hundred kept
Sri Lanka afloat in their first innings

A boundary from Wickramasinghe sealed the deal early on the fourth morning, but a final total of 307 still gave India a lead of 196, and with the pitch now starting to exhibit some signs of uneven bounce as the cracks began to open the hosts were still in a very dominant position. Led by a confident 64 from Gavaskar and a solid 59 from Manjrekar, India were able to build up a lead of over 400 by the time Pataudi declared for the second time in the match, but an excellent bowling performance from Ravi Ratnayeke had kept the scoring rate in check, and he fully deserved to pick up the second five wicket haul of his fledgling ATG career.

Sri Lanka were now faced with the prospect of batting for three and a half sessions to save the game, but Kapil Dev was able to nip out both openers before stumps with just 24 runs on the board, and it was not until Tillakaratne joined his skipper, Arjuna Ranatunga, at the wicket on the final morning that the tourists looked capable of offering any resistance. The pair batted together for almost two hours in adding 81 for the fifth wicket until a well disguised slower ball from Srinath sent Tillakaratne on his way for 34, and when Chandrasekhar eventually prised Ranatunga from the crease for 66, Sri Lanka's chances of avoiding defeat looked slim with the scoreboard reading 189-6 and almost three hours' play remaining.

Ranatunga's 66 spanned the best part of three hours

India's bowlers chipped away the tail, and although a brave last wicket stand between Ratnayeke and Wickramasinghe threatened to provide the game with one last twist, India's two debutants combined to wrap up the win with an hour to spare when Ratnayeke drove Doshi to Manjrekar at cover for a fighting 27. A margin of 162 runs suggested an easy victory for the Indians, but Sri Lanka put up an admirable fight, and although they have now lost each one of their five ATG Tests, they will head into their two Test tour of New Zealand hopeful of causing an upset. India meanwhile next face an arduous tour of the Caribbean, and they will have no illusions about the size of the task that awaits them there.

Score Summary
IND 1st Inns 503-7 dec. (Umrigar 144, Manjrekar 113, Engineer 82, Vengsarkar 72, Prabhakar 40*)
SL 1st Inns 307 (Hathurusingha 101, Kaluwitharana 58, Tillakaratne 40; Chandrasekhar 4-54)
IND 2nd Inns 214-8 dec. (Gavaskar 64, Manjrekar 59; Ratnayeke 5-40)
SL 2nd Inns 248 (Ranatunga 66)

INDIA WON BY 162 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - India 1st innings 310-3 (Manjrekar 72*, Umrigar 71*; 97 ov)
Day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 33-1 (Hathurusingha 15*, Dharmasena 0*; 17 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 298-9 (Ratnayake 3*; 102.5 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 35-2 (Dias 14*, de Silva 4*; 13 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 248 (96.4 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Manjekar is the second Indian and seventeenth overall to make a hundred on debut
▪ Manjrekar's hundred (272 balls) was the ninth slowest in history
▪ Gavaskar passed 5000 career runs

Man of the Match: VL Manjrekar

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - Series Summary

PAKISTAN WON THE SERIES 3-0
Pakistan started as hot favourites in spite of the fact that they had not won a series since season IV, and a 3-0 scoreline come the conclusion of proceedings came as no surprise. Sri Lanka's batting proved itself capable, at least until the final Test, but its bowling attack was hopelessly outclassed, and the record total that Pakistan was allowed to amass in the first Test set the tone for the series.

Javed's triple century in Karachi was the undoubted batting highlight of the series, but Majid Khan was arguably Pakistan's most consistent batsman, notching two centuries and a fifty in his five visits to the crease. Mushtaq Mohammad was the only home batsman to disappoint, but he made up for this with his best ever series with the ball, culminating in his hat-trick in Lahore where he also returned the best bowling figures on either side over the course of the three Tests. Imran enjoyed a very consistent series with bat and ball, and victories in all three Tests have now placed his team right on England's shoulder in the rankings.

As for Sri Lanka, the lack of firepower in their bowling attack will surely see them continue to struggle at this level until the likes of Muralitharan and Vaas become eligible for selection in some future time. That said, the five wicket hauls returned by Ravi Ratnayeke and Rumesh Ratnayake in Lahore do offer some hope, although the wholly ineffectual performance of leg spinner Somachandra de Silva was a great disappointment. The other de Silva, Aravinda, made a most positive impact with the bat after missing the first Test through injury, and the fact that the Sri Lankans were able to pass the 300 mark in each of their first four innings shows that batting is certainly the islanders strongest suit. Gurusinha and Ranatunga will be unhappy with their contributions to the cause though, and both will be keen to make amends when their side next takes the field in a one-off Test against India.

Series averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: Javed Miandad & RS Mahanama

Pakistan v Sri Lanka - Third Test

Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Pakistan: Majid Khan, Mohsin Khan, Ijaz Ahmed, Javed Miandad, Mushtaq Mohammad, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Sarfraz Nawaz, +Wasim Bari, Iqbal Qasim.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, AP Gurusinha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, +RS Kaluwitharana, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, RJ Ratnayake, GP Wickramasinghe.

Debuts: UC Hathurusingha (SL)
Umpires: BL Aldridge (NZL) & VK Ramaswamy (IND)
Toss: Pakistan

The Gaddafi Stadium was sparsely populated throughout the duration of the third and final Test, but there was plenty of entertainment on offer for the few fans that bothered to show up. Pakistan, who were fielding Sarfraz Nawaz and Iqbal Qasim in place of the under-performing Fazal Mahmood and Abdul Qadir, rattled up an impressive 342 runs on day one, but equally impressive was the fact that the Sri Lankans had managed to claim eight wickets during that time, with Ravi Ratnayeke going on to claim the first five wicket haul in the visitors' history as the innings closed for the addition of just six further runs on the second morning.

The Sri Lankan bowlers stuck to their task admirably, and a succession of home batsmen got themselves out to shots of which they would not be proud. Ijaz was one such culprit, caught on the boundary off the recalled Dharmasena seven runs short of what would have been a maiden ATG century, and it was not until the arrival of Asif Iqbal at the crease that we were treated to some composed, measured batsmanship. Asif eventually fell to the second new ball, bowled by an excellent off-cutter from Ratnayake for 71, but Sarfraz continued to enjoy himself and was eventually last out for 48 on would prove to be a most eventful second day.

Mahanama and debutant Hathurusingha gave Sri Lanka's reply a solid foundation, but after lunch came with the score on 91-1, the innings imploded in the afternoon session as Mushtaq Mohammad ran through the card in spectacular fashion. Mahanama was bowled shortly after the resumption for 64, Iqbal Qasim getting his revenge after being struck for two huge, straight sixes before the interval, then Mushtaq took over with a spell of 6-12 in the space of 26 deliveries, the Sri Lankans having no answer to his flighted leg spin. In the midst of his amazing spell, Mushtaq also claimed the first ever hat-trick in ATG history by dismissing Gurusinha, Ratnayeke and Dharmasena with the third, fourth and fifth balls of his sixth over, Dharmasena providing Sarfraz with a steepling catch in the covers that left hearts in mouths for what seemed like an eternity before the celebrations could begin.

Sri Lanka were eventually dismissed for 194 to give Pakistan a 154 run first innings lead, and after Majid and Mohsin were both nipped out before stumps to complete a second day's play on which 14 wickets had fallen, the third day was all about Javed Miandad as his second century of the series dispelled any fanciful thoughts of winning the game that the tourists may have still harboured. Wickets fell regularly throughout the day as Sri Lanka's seamers again bowled with admirable perseverance, but Javed was the glue that held the innings together, and when he was ninth out for 112, after a 61 run stand with Sarfraz that just about hammered the final nail into Sri Lanka's coffin, Pakistan's lead exceeded 400 and the tourists' chance had gone.

Rumesh Ratnayake trumped his near namesake's efforts in the first innings by recording figures of 6-92, but unfortunately for Sri Lanka their batsmen failed to show anything like the same levels of application in their second innings, and with the scoreboard reading 86-4 at the end of day three, the writing was very much on the wall. Aravinda de Silva had fallen for a silky 46 in the day's last over, gated by a turning ball from Qasim, and without his presence the remainder of the order crumbled on day four, two stoppages for rain the only impediment to a decisive Pakistani victory. It was pace rather than spin that did for the Lankans this time, and Imran and Akram shared nine wickets between them as the innings subsided to a paltry total of 126. Sri Lanka's batting had let them down badly after it had been their strongest suit in the first two Tests, and Pakistan's series sweep, sadly celebrated in front of just a handful of spectators, was both predictable and deserved.

1st & 2nd innings scorecards
(click to enlarge)

Scores
PAK 1st Inns 348 (Ijaz Ahmed 93, Asif Iqbal 71, Sarfraz Nawaz 48; Ratnayeke 5-62)
SL 1st Inns 194 (Mahanama 64; Mushtaq Mohammad 6-29)
PAK 2nd Inns 255 (Javed Miandad 112; Ratnayake 6-92)
SL 2nd Inns 126 (PA de Silva 46; Imran Khan 5-37, Wasim Akram 4-42)

PAKISTAN WON BY 283 RUNS


Man of the Match: Mushtaq Mohammad