Player of the Match
Player of the Match

And that's all from us today. Keep an eye on the ESPNcricinfo homepage to read the match report from Varun Shetty and all the analysis that comes from Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle. Till then, on behalf of everyone here, it's goodbye!

12.41pm Time for the post-match presentation.

Dimuth Karunaratne is the Man of the Match for his hundred.

Losing captain Kane Williamson: "When we won the toss, we would've taken 268 as the fourth-innings target. We saw the surface deteriorate in the past, but it wasn't this time. It just slowed down. A good surface. Number of learnings that we can take out of this game. We weren't far off, but SL's knowledge and experience in these conditions was very good. We played reasonably well, but not good enough. We need better partnerships with the bat and the ball. The rankings and the points are secondary. The quality of cricket is the focus for us. Certainly some good bits, but as a side this wasn't our best performance. Having said that, SL played really well."

Winning captain Dimuth Karunaratne: "It's not easy chasing in the fourth innings. We needed a good partnership, and that's what Thirimanne and I discussed. On the fifth day, we started well and wanted to keep at it. Once you're set, you have to make a big one. We are thinking of keeping the basics right for the next Test too. After losing the toss, our bowlers did a great job to keep them under 300. When the ball gets softer it's easier at Galle. We saw Taylor and Watling bat well, so we thought the pitch isn't so dangerous and we adapted accordingly."

12.33pm Stick around for the presentation.

Prabhanjan Bada: "Bon appetit to followers of Test cricket this Sunday as Lord's could offer more savouries if Australia nip a few English wickets in a hurry. "

vip wick: "Both world cup finalists lost their first matches in WTC!"

12.26pm And that's sixty points on the WTC table for Sri Lanka. The teams shake hands as the Sri Lanka players hug each other in the dugout. The camera is focused on Dimuth Karunaratne, whose rare fourth-innings ton broke New Zealand's back yesterday and today.

kieran: "Well done SL on the win. Some in close catching practice needed by NZ! Hopefully Kane will score big next game. I haven't had the pleasure of watching a test in SL before, I must say Galle looks like a very nice spot."

Ruminda: "To kane and the wonderful kiwis.really sorry.but we as a country needed this much more than you could ever imagine."
suneej: "After long time we will see sri Lanka at the top of the table#WTC"

Glen: "Glad to see the umpires using a bit of common sense and letting the match finish, rather than taking lunch with a handful of runs needed because the rulebook says too. Hope it doesn't result in them being punished in some way or anything stupid like that. "

86.1
1
Boult to Mathews, 1 run, length ball, on middle, and flicked to backward square! Sri Lanka win by six wickets

Time for the second *extra* over of the session

END OF OVER:
86 | 5 Runs | SL: 267/4

  • Dhananjaya de Silva14 (13b)
  • Angelo Mathews27 (72b)
  • Tim Southee12-2-33-1
  • Trent Boult9-1-33-1
85.6
0
Southee to de Silva, no run, length ball, just outside off, and he shoulders his arms once more! Dhananjaya teasing the rule-book now

Chants of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka begin to engulf the ground. A big crowd has turned up today

85.5
0
Southee to de Silva, no run, length ball outside off, and he shoulders his arms this time
85.4
4
Southee to de Silva, FOUR, shotttt! Length ball, wide outside off, but he goes Nataraja to pull through midwicket
85.3
1
Southee to Mathews, 1 run, full outside off, and the straight drive hits the stumps at the bowler's end. Ball ricochets to long on as they walk across for one

Prabhanjan Bada: "After having watched proceedings from the Ashes and this series in Sri Lanka, one feels the WTC couldn't have hoped for a better start. Whether the heightened verve in the contests is a consequence of the new league or merely incidental is up for debate. "

85.2
0
Southee to Mathews, no run, full, just outside off, and tapped back with soft hands

Roshan: "It is not Sri Lanka's fault they are not given many matches from others. So what some of you are suggesting is for sides like Pak and Srl that play 13 matches get same number of points as sides that play 20+ matches. That is ridiculous. Why don't you all give credit where credit is due. This was a tough chase on a ground where no one has chased above 100 before! Also nobody calls home advantage when Nzl beat Srl in Green tops! Then it was sub continent teams lack of ability! Hypocritical much "

85.1
0
Southee to Mathews, no run, back of a length, outside off, and punched. Finds cover though

So, as per the ICC playing conditions rulebook, we *must* take the lunch break right now. But it seems that the teams are staying on. Here's Southee

END OF OVER:
85 | 3 Runs | SL: 262/4

  • Dhananjaya de Silva10 (10b)
  • Angelo Mathews26 (69b)
  • Trent Boult9-1-33-1
  • Tim Southee11-2-28-1
84.6
2
Boult to de Silva, 2 runs, full, just outside off, and driven straight past the bowler. Chase for Santner to long off, but he manages to pull things back
84.5
0
Boult to de Silva, no run, full, on middle, and tapped back to the bowler

Yaseen: "Cricket's reliance on conditions makes it unique. Can't compare it with NBA or EPL or MLB for that matter. Every cricket ground is different, not only in terms of pitch but dimensions as well, unlike other sports(golf is not a sport). -- Love that burn at the end

84.4
1
Boult to Mathews, 1 run, pulled behind square but for just a single. Short ball on leg stump this time
84.3
0
Boult to Mathews, no run, full and wide outside off, and the attempted drive is caressed to cover

Rohith: "I don't know much about NBA but in football factors like grass, crowd, ground dimensions are made suitable to home team style of play"

84.2
0
Boult to Mathews, no run, length ball, outside off, and punched to cover
84.1
0
Boult to Mathews, no run, back of a length, on leg stump, and he ducks under the ball

END OF OVER:
84 | 5 Runs | SL: 259/4

  • Dhananjaya de Silva8 (8b)
  • Angelo Mathews25 (65b)
  • Tim Southee11-2-28-1
  • Trent Boult8-1-30-1

Officially, this should've been lunch, since they have bowled only three overs instead of four, play continues at Galle

83.6
0
Southee to de Silva, no run, full and wide outside off, and he shoulders his arms
83.5
0
Southee to de Silva, no run, length ball, outside off, and punched to cover
83.4
4
Southee to de Silva, FOUR, length ball, on middle, and flicked off his pads past backward square leg. Boult can't cut it off, and now Sri Lanka need only nine runs to win

Vignesh Nambiar: "While i don't agree with more points for an away win...the argument about it not applying in the EPL/NBA is not relevant. Home teams don't prepare the pitch / basketball court to suit their needs, like a cricket pitch can be."

83.3
0
Southee to de Silva, no run, full outside off, and he leans forward to drive. Can't get the gap

Pratham: "Rather than rewarding more for away tests, I shall say have a balanced schedule with less disparity between the number of test matches played between sides from the next edition of WTC onwards..." -- Agreed with you on that. But mind you, all teams play the same number of series, and therefore contest for the same number of points (120 per series)

Sri Lanka 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st161FDM KarunaratneHDRL Thirimanne
2nd13FDM KarunaratneBKG Mendis
3rd44AD MathewsFDM Karunaratne
4th32AD MathewsMDKJ Perera
5th18AD MathewsDM de Silva