Sri Lanka Keep Final Hopes Alive in World Test Championship with Stunning Win Over New Zealand

In a sensational turn of events, Sri Lanka pulled off a remarkable victory against New Zealand in the first Test in Galle on Monday, boosting their chances of securing a spot in the World Test Championship 2023-25 final. The 63-run win propelled Sri Lanka to the third position in the table, with a 50% win percentage. To solidify their place in the final, the islanders must now aim for a clean sweep against South Africa and a 2-0 series win against Australia at home. Australia currently holds the second spot with a 62.50% win percentage, while India leads the table with an impressive 71.67% win percentage. Sri Lanka's stunning victory has certainly made the race to the final even more intriguing.

New Zealand, on the other hand, are sitting fourth with 42.86% PCT while Bangladesh dropped down to sixth after their loss to India in the first Test last week. Bangladesh’s current PCT is 39.29%. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s victory over the Kiwis, was aided by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who finished with a match-haul of nine wickets including a fifer in the second innings.

New Zealand resumed play on the final day needing 68 more runs to reach a victory target of 275. However, they managed to add just four runs before Sri Lanka wrapped up the game in only 3.4 overs. Overnight batsman Rachin Ravindra, who had kept New Zealand’s hopes alive with a valiant 91 on Sunday, could only add one more run to his total before being trapped leg before wicket by Jayasuriya.

The promising left-hander’s resistance ended as he misjudged a delivery trying to defend on the back foot. New Zealand’s failure to break the crucial 147-run third-wicket partnership between Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne in Sri Lanka’s second innings proved decisive.

Sri Lanka will be hoping to win its first Test series against New Zealand since 2009. Since then, the sides have met in six series, with New Zealand winning four and two ending in draws.