On Monday, New Zealand prevailed by an innings-and-58-run margin.
Despite a late comeback by the visitors, New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka on Monday by an innings and 58 runs to win the Test series 2-0.
Just scoring 164 in their first innings, Sri Lanka was invited to continue after the Black Caps in Wellington declared at 580. After that, they were bowled out for 358.
After mounting a comeback on Monday, Dhananjaya de Silva passed 3,000 Test runs before being caught on 98, missing out on a tenth Test century.
When they ended his 76-run stand with rookie wicketkeeper Nishan Madushka, who was caught just before tea, New Zealand’s seamers had already sensed victory.
The battle came to an end when De Silva was removed; Sri Lanka lost their final three wickets for 40 runs as the tailenders were eliminated.
With three wickets each, Tim Southee, the captain of New Zealand, and seamer Blair Tickner caused the majority of the damage.
Although Sri Lanka ended the day on 113-2, New Zealand’s pace attack provided little relief as Kane Williamson caught Kusal Mendis on 50 in the first over of Monday.
Soon after, with just two runs from 44 balls added, Angelo Mathews also walked, putting the visitors in jeopardy of losing at 116-4.
In the opening session, De Silva and Dinesh Chandimal added 126 runs together, slowing New Zealand’s progress. The partnership came to an end when Tickner caught Chandimal on 62 just before lunch.
De Silva and Madushka continued Sri Lanka’s fight after the break, but their dismissals for zero runs on each side of tea left the team still 98 runs behind.
Prabath Jayasuriya got just two runs from 44 balls when he top-edged his shot to Tickner as New Zealand gradually tightened the screws.
With a four, Kasun Rajitha helped Sri Lanka surpass 350 runs. He was fortunate to eke his shot past Michael Bracewell in the slips.
The second time, Bracewell made no mistakes as he dived to grab Lahiru Kumara’s wicket off Southee.
As the ball clipped his pants rather than his leg pad, Asitha Fernando was spared a review. Williamson, the best scorer for the hosts with a double century in the first innings, caught Rajitha to secure the victory for New Zealand.
