Rangana Herath’s 14-wicket match haul helped ensure former Sri lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene retired from Test cricket with a series sweep against Pakistan on Monday.
Herath took 5-57 in the second innings to propel Sri lanka to a 105-run victory on the final morning of the second test after Pakistan was dismissed for 165 chasing 271 at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
He finished with a career-best 14/184 for the match, surpassing his previous mark of 12/157 against Bangladesh last year, and increased his series tally to 23 wickets after a match-winning performance in the first Test at Galle. He was named both player of the match and the series.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said Herath was the difference between two teams and said there was no shame in losing to a better team.
After Kaushal Silva caught Wahab Riaz for the last wicket, Jayawardene was carried off the Sinhalese Sports Ground on the shoulders of his teammates.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was a guest, handed Jayawardene a souvenir to mark the occasion.
Meanwhile the International Cricket Council has reprimanded Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal for using obscene language during the fourth day’s play Sunday. The ICC said in a statement that the words were picked up by stumps microphone and heard on television during Sri lanka’s 105th over.
The offense can carry a penalty of an official reprimand to a fine of up to 50 percent of the match fee.
Pakistan started the last day at 127-7, facing almost inevitable defeat with only the possibility of rain giving them some hope of saving the test.
Sarfraz Ahmed followed up his century in the first innings with 55 in the second before he was caught by Kumar Sangakkara in the deep off seam bowler Chanaka Welegedara. Ahmed faced 89 deliveries and hit two boundaries but his wicket spelled the end for Pakistan.
Riaz’s dismissal sealed victory for Sri lanka, with Junaid Khan unable to bat after being hit on the head by a Dhammika Prasad bouncer in the first innings.
The batting failed again for Pakistan, after the bowlers got the tourists back into contention on Sunday with eight Sri lanka wickets for 105 in a remarkable comeback. But Sri lanka, led by Dhammika Prasad’s two quick wickets and Herath, reveled in the conditions and gave long-serving Jayawardene a fitting farewell to the five-day format.
Brief Scores
Sri lanka: 320 (Upul Tharanga 92; Junaid Khan 5/87, Wahab Riaz 3/88) and 282 (Kumar Sangakkara 59, Mahela Jayawardene 54; Riaz 3/76, Saeed Ajmal 3/89, Abdul Rehman 2/97) beat Pakistan: 332 (Sarfraz Ahmed 103, Ahmed Shehzad 58; Rangana Herath 9/127) and 165/9 (Sarfraz 55; Herath 5/57, Dhammika Prasad 2/29) by 105 runs.