The hosts won the toss and scored 386 in their first innings, thanks to a scintillating century by Karunaratne. The left-handed batter played an unbeaten knock of 147 runs with the help of 15 boundaries.
Apart from the skipper, opening batter Pathum Nissanka (56), middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva (61), and wicketkeeper Dinesh Chandimal (45) made valuable contributions to the team’s total.
The visitors then replied with 230 — conceding a 156-run lead to their opponents after resuming on 224/9. Praveen Jayawickrama shined with the ball in the first innings, taking a four-wicket haul in 19.5 overs.
In the second innings, Sri Lanka declared at 191/4 and set West Indies a massive target of 348 runs to win. Karunartne, who hit a hundred in the first innings, continued the same momentum and again top-scored with an 83-run knock. Senior batter Angelo Mathews also chipped in with an unbeaten 69, including eight boundaries.
Chasing 384, the tourists crumbled against a top-quality spin attack and got bundled out for just 160 runs. Ramesh Mendis and Lasith Embuldeniya were the pick of the bowlers for the home team. While Mendis picked up four scalps in the second innings, Embuldeniya bagged a tremendous five-wicket haul.
Here is how Twitter reacted:
Brilliant win @OfficialSLC ?? so many things to admire & applaud right throughout. 3 Young spinners very impressive , Well lead by @IamDimuth & good to see everyone contributing towards this win. Biggest positive for me is having the crowd back after so long#SLvsWI
— Farveez Maharoof (@farveezmaharoof) November 25, 2021
Probably him stopped the rain from heaven.
Great performance boys @IamDimuth @Angelo69Mathews @LEmbuldeniya and ramesh.good win .. pic.twitter.com/KhwrarrVOO
— Dhananjaya De Silva (@dds75official) November 25, 2021
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