Sri Lanka retained the top spot in the ICC World Test Championship standings by beating West Indies 2-0 in the home series. The Islanders completed a whitewash by winning the second Test in Galle by 164 runs.
Dhananjaya de Silva received the Man of the Match award for his excellent batting performance in the second innings. The Sri Lankan star scored an unbeaten 262-ball 155 to set up the home team's ICC World Test Championship series victory.
Sri Lanka won the toss on the first day and elected to bat in Galle. Pathum Nissanka and captain Dimuth Karunaratne started well, but the West Indies team bounced back and bowled the home side out for 204 runs.
Nissanka was the top-scorer with a 148-ball 73. Veerasammy Permaul bagged a five-wicket haul for the visitors. In reply, West Indies scored 253 runs and took a 49-run first-innings lead. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite stole the show with a 72-run knock in the first innings. Ramesh Mendis took a six-wicket haul for Sri Lanka.
Trailing by 49 runs, it seemed like Sri Lanka would struggle to set a big target for their opponents. However, an excellent performance from Dhananjaya de Silva brought Sri Lanka back into the contest. He smashed 11 fours and two sixes in his 155-run knock while Nissanka supported him with a 66-run knock.
Sri Lanka declared their second innings at 345/9, setting a 297-run target for the Caribbean outfit. Ramesh Mendis and Lasith Embuldeniya scalped five wickets each in the second innings as Sri Lanka bowled West Indies out for just 132 runs.
Nkrumah Bonner tried his best to save the match with a 44-run knock. However, the other Caribbean batters failed to get going in the final innings of this ICC World Test Championship series.
ICC World Test Championship Points Table as on December 3
Sri Lanka continue to top the standings with 100% points after their first series in the new ICC World Test Championship cycle. Meanwhile, West Indies slipped to number six.
The Caribbean team only has 25% points to its name. The table will change soon because the second match of the India vs New Zealand ICC World Test Championship series got underway in Mumbai earlier today.
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