Colombo, Sri Lanka, Mar 19: Rangana Herath returned career-best match figures of 12-157 to propel Sri Lanka to a seven-wicket win against Bangladesh on the fourth day of the second test and 1-0 series victory.
Chasing 160 to win on Tuesday, Sri Lanka reached the target losing three wickets, led by Tillakaratne Dilshan (57) and Kumar Sangakkara (55).
Herath made it a 35th birthday to remember with his 200th test wicket, and career-best match and innings figures. He was man of the match at R Premadasa Stadium.
“After Murali, Herath has been the man for us,” Angelo Mathews said after his first series win as captain. “We have a lot to improve upon and lot to learn. Bangladesh played really well and put us under pressure, but I never really doubted my team.”
Bangladesh, 143-2 in its second innings late Monday, was all out for 265 by lunch on Tuesday.
Left-arm spinner Herath, who took two wickets in two balls in Monday's last session, took the first four on Tuesday morning, starting in the day's first over.
When he had Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim caught at slip by his skipper Mathews, Herath had 4-25 off 7.1 overs in the session and brought up his 200th wicket in his 47th test.
At the end of the innings, he'd posted 7-89 off 36 overs. In the first innings he took 5-68.
It was the third time he's taken 10 wickets or more in a test, improving on his 12-171 against England at Galle last year.
Dilshan and Shaminda Eranga grabbed the last Bangladesh wickets, then Dilshan opened the batting after lunch.
Bangladesh seamer Robiul Islam took the wickets of both openers, dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne (16) lbw and bowling out Dilshan.
Dilshan hit six boundaries off 73 deliveries and shared 94 for the second wicket with Sangakkara, who faced 85 deliveries and hit eight boundaries.
Sangakkara, who made three straight centuries before Tuesday's half-century, was declared player of the series.
Mathews said he was under pressure in leading a younger team in his first series.
“Apart from Kumar Sangakkara, Dilshan and Rangana Herath, all the others were young and they rose to the occassion,” he said.
Rahim attributed his team's loss after an impressive show on a placid pitch in Galle in the drawn first test to a lack of runs in the first innings.
“In the second test we did not bat well, especially the first innings, we were 80 to 100 runs short,” he said. “That time the pitch was good, (so we're) a bit disappointed because the opportunity was there.”
Sri Lanka dismissed Bangladesh for 240 in the first innings and scored 346 to set up a 106-run first-innings lead.
The day began with Bangladesh resuming at 158-4, but lost Mominul Haque in the first over for 37 with just one run added to his overnight score. Herath kept up the pressure by bowling Nasir Hossain without scoring.
Rahim and Sohag Gazi resisted briefly with a promising 31-run stand for the seventh wicket but Gazi was out for 26 to an ambitious shot against Herath, caught by Suranga Lakmal in the deep.
Rahim soon followed, having made 40 off 87 deliveries including three boundaries and a six.
Tamim Iqbal top-scored for Bangladesh with 59, while Jahurul Islam made 48.
A three-match, one-day international series starts on Saturday.
