GALLE, Oct 17: Sri Lankan spin bowler Rangana Herath�s 10-wicket match haul helped the hosts crush the West Indies by an innings and six runs today 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 11 wickets shy of becoming the third Sri Lankan to snag 300 Test wickets.
After starting the day on 67 for two, the West Indies never managed to build up enough momentum to challenge the hosts, as Jermaine Blackwood, the last man out for 92, provided the lone resistance on a day of abject surrender by the West Indies batsmen.
His innings included 10 fours and three sixes.
Shortly after the start of the day�s play, nightwatchman Devendra Bishoo was caught by captain Angelo Mathews off the bowling of Herath with the score at just 74. The very next ball, Herath trapped Marlon Samuels leg before wicket.
Though the spinner missed out on a hat trick, Sri Lanka kept the West Indies in trouble with Darren Bravo (31) falling to a peach of a swinger by Nuwan Pradeep that edged back to wicketkeeper Kusal Janith Perera.
Denesh Ramdin was next to fall, caught at slip off the bowling of Milinda Siriwardana.
The West Indies were looking forlorn at lunch at 156-6 needing a further 77 to avoid an innings defeat.
SCORECARD
Sri Lanka 1st innings: 484.
West Indies 1st innings: 251.
West Indies 2nd innings: (Following on) K Brathwaite lbw Herath 34, S Hope b Siriwardana 6, D Bravo c Perera b Pradeep 31, D Bishoo c Mathews b Herath 10, M Samuels lbw Herath 0, J Blackwood c Silva b Prasad 92, D Ramdin c Silva b Siriwardana 11, J Holder run out 18, K Roach st Perera b Herath 5, J Taylor lbw b Prasad 5, S Gabriel not out 7; Extras: (lb3 w2 nb3) 8; Total: all out (68.3 overs) 227; Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-60, 3-74, 4-74, 5-88, 6-136, 7-172, 8-178, 9-189, 10-227; Bowling: Prasad 9.3-3-28-2, Herath 22-5-79-4 Pradeep 14-1-28-1, Siriwardana 12-1-60-2, Kaushal 11-3-29-0. � AFP
