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Sri Lanka secured a massive innings and 280-run victory over minnows Ireland, wrapping up the match on Day 3 itself to ensure that this was the biggest victory margin in their long history in Test cricket. In the first innings, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama smashed centuries in the first innings and then Prabhat Jayasuriya took 10 wickets in the first Irish innings as three more during the follow-on gift their team the win.
On Monday, Sri Lanka declared with a score of 591-6 and hurt visitors Ireland more by reducing them to 117-7 after two days of the first Test on Monday. Prabath Jayasuriya ran through the Irish on a Galle pitch turning more and more by taking 7-52.
Ireland were reduced to 143 in the first innings, forcing the follow-on. Ireland, recovering after seamer Vishwa Fernando took two wickets in the second over, were on 74-2 when Jayasuriya tempted Harry Tector on 34 to drive a ball that dipped and turned away from the right-hander for a catch in the slips.
Two balls later, Curtis Campher's attempted drive went to Ramesh Mendis at extra cover. Jayasuriya bowled James McCollum for 35, bagged Peter Moor for 14, and trapped George Dockrell for his fifth five-for.
At Stumps on Day 2, Lorcan Tucker was on 21 and Andy McBrine on 5. This was after Sri Lanka resumed the day on 386-4 and Dinesh Chandimal and Sadeera Samarawickrama became the third and fourth batters in the innings to post centuries.
Ireland removed nightwatchman Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva cheaply to leave Sri Lanka on 408-6. But Chandimal and Samarawickrama combined for an unbroken 183-run partnership in relatively quick time. Chandimal picked up from 18 overnight to 102 not out with 12 boundaries. He reached his 14th Test century and fifth in Galle from 152 balls.
Samarawickrama scored his maiden test century in his first test in more than five years. Samarawickrama was 104 not out from 114 deliveries, including 11 boundaries.
Sri Lanka declared about half an hour before tea on their highest total in two years.
After giving Ireland the follow-on, the bowlers once again took the game to their opponents. They got the wickets of the Irishmen at regular intervals. Harry Tector, who was hitting the ball regularly but was run out by Samarawickrama. Tucker, who scored a century in the one-off Test match against Bangladesh, tried his best to bring Ireland back into the game.
He scored 45 runs off 73 balls before he was caught LBW by Jayasuriya. This effectively ended their chances of a win in this match, with the team struggling at 155/8 at the time of writing.
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