Player of the Match
Player of the Match

And on that note, there's no more from us. The white-ball leg between these sides will start on Friday with the first ODI, but for now on behalf of Abhimanyu, Fidel, Himanshu, Thilak and the rest of the team, this is Madushka signing off!

Dhananjaya de Silva: "[Captaincy?] It's quite a tough job captaining a side with so many senior player, as well as so many ex-captains. It was a good experience for me, but yeah, I like it. [talk us through day 3?] It was a struggle and they batted with a lot of discipline. And then during the latter part of day 2, when both Angelo and I got dismissed, it might not seem that bad but that was the point that Afghanistan felt they were back in the game. I think that's the crucial moment of the match. But our bowlers stuck to the plan all day [day 3], not giving runs away and keeping it tight. In my point of view, that's the way to play Test cricket. And the once you get one wicket it might be two or three. [3 seam, 1 spin combo?] It was good. There was some grass on the wicket. We knew it wouldn't turn much and that two spinners wouldn't be ideal. The fast bowlers can reverse it and got some good bouncers in the middle part of the innings as well. [unfortunate runout, what happened?] I called, but Angelo was tired. It was definitely my fault though. He had scored a hundred and was tired, so I could have stayed in the crease."

Hashmatullah Shahidi: "The boys played well. I feel disappointed because I think the first day was the day that we didn't play well and gave the chance to the opposition. We had a good comeback yesterday...[concerns about collapses?] I think it's the lack of experience in Test cricket and also not having a lot of opportunities to play red-ball cricket. We're new in Test cricket and it's a learning process for us. I hope that we learn from this game, and we have the next one in the next 20 days [against] so hopefully we'll move forward and learn from this. [more Test cricket?] Yeah, we don't have enough opportunities on red-ball cricket. It's not easy. But we learn and move on."

Prabath Jayasuriya is named Player of the Match for match figures of 8 for 174: "I'm really happy at the moment, the last couple of days were tough. We knew this was a batting friendly wicket, so were just trying to do the basics right. This wicket I felt the need to bowl a little slower to gain something in terms of movement."

Time for the post-match presentation...

2.36pm Handshakes all around then as Sri Lanka wrap up what was eventually a comprehensive win. A winning start too for Dhananjaya de Silva's reign as captain. Afghanistan though showed plenty of fight throughout the game, particularly the likes of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah. Shah notched up fifties in both innings, while Ibrahim followed up a duck in the first innings with his maiden Test ton in the second. Afghanistan's seamers too showed great discipline over long periods, but in the end Sri Lanka's greater experience proved to be the telling factor. This bore evidence mainly in the stark collapses in both innings, where the visitors lost 16 wickets for a collective 171 runs. Sri Lanka on the other hand built on the platforms that were set, with the likes of Mathews and Chandimal notching up tons. Then with the ball, as well as some aggressive captaincy from DDS, Sri Lanka's bowler's probed patiently to take their opportunities. Prabath Jayasuriya would end with 8 wickets in the match, including a second innings five-for, while the excellent Asitha Fernando would also grab 6 in the match. It wasn't a perfect game for the hosts though, with some chances being grassed, but a satisfying outing overall. Fidel's end of game report should be up in a bit with all this and more. Stay tuned though as we'll have the post-match presentation shortly.

7.2
4
Qais Ahmad to Karunaratne, FOUR, And it's finished off in style! Tossed up, Dimuth gets on one knee and slogs this through midwicket. Sri Lanka win by 10 wickets!
7.1
4
Qais Ahmad to Karunaratne, FOUR, Careened down the ground! Dimuth uses his feet well, takes this from just outside off and drives this cleanly down the ground

Here's Qais. 8 runs more for SL.

Suntha: "Angelo Matthews for the PotM, simply for making the match more interesting"

END OF OVER:
7 | 6 Runs | SL: 48/0

  • Nishan Madushka22 (23b)
  • Dimuth Karunaratne24 (20b)
  • Nijat Masood1-0-5-0
  • Naveed Zadran3-0-30-0
6.6
0
Nijat Masood to KNM Fernando, no run, back of a length on the stumps, Madushka stays in his crease and defends

over the wicket

6.5
1lb
Nijat Masood to Karunaratne, 1 leg bye, length on the pads, deflect behind square leg off the front pad
6.4
0
Nijat Masood to Karunaratne, no run, good length, nipping in from outside off. Induces an inside edge on to the pads as Dimuth presses forward. Oh dear Afghanistan have taken a fairly desperate review. Inside edge confirmed in quick time

around the wicket

6.3
1
Nijat Masood to KNM Fernando, 1 run, short of a length just outside off, dabbed square on the offside for one
6.2
3
Nijat Masood to Karunaratne, 3 runs, short of a length on the pads, tucked towards deep square leg. The boundary rider has a lot of ground to make from fine leg and they run three
6.1
1
Nijat Masood to KNM Fernando, 1 run, full on the pads, clipped behind square for one

Here's Nijat now. Right-arm over

David: "Alright, We are at the final stage of the game. Who will be the man of the match of this test. Any guess?" --- Mathews and Jayasuriya would be the obvious shouts, but IMO Asitha should get it for a tireless and irreplaceable effort in both innings.

END OF OVER:
6 | 13 Runs | SL: 42/0

  • Dimuth Karunaratne21 (17b)
  • Nishan Madushka20 (20b)
  • Naveed Zadran3-0-30-0
  • Zia-ur-Rehman3-0-12-0
5.6
6
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, SIX, Finally gets a hold of one properly! This was short again around shoulder high, but Dimuth is waiting and he clobbers this pull over deep square leg
5.5
0
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, no run, short ball angled in, pulls out of the hook

around the wicket

5.4
2
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, 2 runs, well directed bouncer on off, but Dimuth is equal to it. Goes on his toes, gets over this and dabs this behind point
5.3
0
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, no run, short and wide, has to reach for the cut though as this bounced pretty high. Ends up merely knocking it into the turf
5.3
1nb
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, 1 no ball, short of a length on middle, seaming back in. Cramps Dimuth for room as he looks to dab this towards third man. Ends up beating him and going through. Late front foot check confirms a no-ball
5.2
0
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, no run, short, angled away from off. Goes for the hook and pulls out late. Ends up hitting the toe end of the bat as the ball deflects into the turf
5.1
4
Naveed Zadran to Karunaratne, FOUR, Didn't know much about that but four runs anyway! This was short and Dimuth rolls his wrists over looking to keep this pull down. Ends up getting a top edge and flies to the vacant fine leg region

END OF OVER:
5 | 8 Runs | SL: 29/0

  • Nishan Madushka20 (20b)
  • Dimuth Karunaratne9 (10b)
  • Zia-ur-Rehman3-0-12-0
  • Naveed Zadran2-0-17-0
4.6
0
Zia-ur-Rehman to KNM Fernando, no run, good length, pitching on off and straightening. Goes back and defends this with a full face
4.5
0
Zia-ur-Rehman to KNM Fernando, no run, full on the stumps, defended once more on the front
4.4
4
Zia-ur-Rehman to KNM Fernando, FOUR, Down the track and smoked over extra cover! Madushka wants an early tea!
4.3
0
Zia-ur-Rehman to KNM Fernando, no run, full on the stumps, gets forward to defend
4.2
0
Zia-ur-Rehman to KNM Fernando, no run, good length, angled in straighter. Goes deep in the crease and is saved by an inside edge into the pads