This was Rangana Herath's fifth 10-wicket haul in his 64th Test. He's now just 12 wickets shy of becoming the third Sri Lankan to grab 300 Test wickets

AFP/Galle


Sri Lankan spin bowler Rangana Herath’s 10-wicket match haul helped the hosts crush the West Indies by an innings and six runs yesterday to decisively win the first Test at Galle with a day to spare.
The visitors were bowled out for 227 in the second innings, just an hour and 15 minutes after lunch on the fourth day of a Test which saw Herath wreak havoc throughout.
He finished with second innings figures of four for 79, after taking six for 68 in the first innings, in which the tourists were all out for 251 and forced to follow on after Sri Lanka amassed 484 in their first innings.
Herath’s fifth 10-wicket haul in his 64th Test put him just 12 wickets shy of becoming the third Sri Lankan to grab 300 Test wickets.
“Galle was where I started my career,” said a jubilant Herath. “There is something (at Galle) for me and all spinners. I wish I can reach the 300 mark in this series.”
Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews praised Herath as simply “outstanding” after the West Indies’ Darren Bravo described him as one of the top spin bowlers in the world.   
Herath’s heroics came after Sri Lanka’s domination with the bat on the first two days. The left-handed opener Dimuth Karunaratne (186) and the middle order batsman Dinesh Chandimal (151) piled the misery on struggling West Indies.
Karunaratne and Chandimal set a new record in the third wicket partnership between the two countries when they added 238, beating a 14-year-old record set by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene of 162.
“We have had some individual brilliance. Karunaratne and Chandimal played well, Herath was outstanding,” Mathews said.
Sri Lanka have now won six out of 10 Tests played against West Indies in the island since 1993 with four draws. West Indies are yet to win a single match. The second and final Test opens in Colombo on Thursday.
After starting the day on 67 for two, the West Indies never managed to build enough momentum to challenge the hosts. Jermaine Blackwood, the last man out for 92, put up a resistance, but not enough to stave off an innings defeat. His knock included 10 fours and three sixes.