Jayasuriya and De Silva contributed only 17 percent (236) of the total number of runs (1393) scored by Sri Lanka in the series, but yet their failures (unlike in South Africa) hardly mattered, as Sri Lanka came back from losing the first Test to snatch the next two and with it the Singer-Akai series. The win avenged Sri Lanka's 2-0 defeat in New Zealand early last year.
That Sri Lanka have shown they can win despite the failures of their top class batsmen is a good sign for the future. For too long, the middle-order had relied on experienced campaigners like De Silva and skipper Arjuna Ranatunga.
Now with the advent of young Mahela Jayawardene and the form shown by the little wicket-keeper Romesh Kaluwitharna, Sri Lanka have discovered they have other resources to supplement their batting even if the old guard fails.
Apart from Jayasuriya and De Silva, Marvan Atapattu and Ranatunga also had a lean run with the bat. The return of Hashan Tillekeratne gave the batting a look of stability. Although he didn't contribute anything outstanding, his presence in the specialist close-catching position for the spinners added a new dimension to the fielding which faltered in the first Test, but picked up in the next two to turn the tables on the Kiwis.
In a series where the ball dominated over the bat, Jayawardene and New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming emerged as the two outstanding batsmen from either side.
Jayewardene (21) after twice getting out in the fifties, finally proved himself a batsman of the highest order by compiling a monumental 167 to give Test cricket's 79th venue - the Galle International Stadium a memorable baptism. His innings turned out to be the cornerstone on which Sri Lanka's victory was based on.
Fleming (25) played a similar innings (176 not out) at the R. Premadasa Stadium to put his side on the path to victory.
Both batsmen topped their respective country's batting averages, by virtue of those knocks, Jayewardene averaging 60 and Fleming 71. That none of the other batsmen came anywhere near to them made their innings even the more significant.
Where New Zealand lost their grip on the series going 1-all into the third and final Test at the SSC was when they fell behind on the first innings by 13 runs, when a lead of over 50 runs was essential as they had to bat last on the pitch, and later, when they allowed the Kaluwitharana-Muralitharan last wicket partnership to flourish (after reducing Sri Lanka to 140 for 6), which put the game beyond their reach.
In left-arm spinner Niroshan Bandaratilake, Muralitharan has finally found a bowler to support him. The figures show, that Bandaratilake bowled more overs than Muralitharan in the series and the two in tandem accounted for 35 of the 56 wickets New Zealand wickets.
Muralitharan with a rich haul of 19 wickets moved closer to becoming the first Sri Lankan bowler to take 200 wickets in Test cricket. His present tally stands at 187 wickets from 41 Tests. But with only the one-off Test against England coming up in August to complete the quota of Tests for Sri Lanka this year, he may have to abide his time till next year to achieve the target.
In the absence of their key fast bowler Chaminda Vaas, who has a very good record against New Zealand, and Nuwan Zoysa - both injured, and the dropping of Ravindra Pushpakumara and Sajeeva de Silva for poor form, Sri Lanka were down to just one fast bowler in Pramodya Wickremasinghe. In the circumstances they had to prepare wickets to suit their strength which was spin. One cannot say that it was unfair to prepare such tracks because New Zealand were also adequately served with a trio of spinners led by 19-year-old Daniel Vettori who finished on top of their bowling with 17 wickets (avg. 21.23), Paul Wiseman, Mark Priest and the leg-spin of Chris Harris.
The difference between the two sides was that Sri Lankan batsmen played spin better than their New Zealand counterparts.
A compliment should be paid to the national selection committee for taking the bold step of introducing youth into the series. Now that they have been successful to some extent, one hopes they will pursue with the same policy in future matches also.
Coming from behind to win a series
Arjuna Ranatunga became the first captain in the history of Test cricket to come from behind and win two 3-match Test series by a margin of 2-1 when his team beat New Zealand by 164 runs in the third and final Test concluded at the SSC grounds on Saturday.
It provided the fifth instant in cricket of such an occurrence. The first took place in the 19th century and there have been four instances in the present century.
New Zealand also entered the record books by becoming the only country to be beaten twice in a series after winning the first Test. They suffered this ignominy first against South Africa in 1994-95, and now against Sri Lanka.
The five instances of come-from-behind victories1888 - England beat Australia (Captain W.G. Grace) 1st Test (Lord's) - Australia won by 61 runs. 2nd Test (Oval) - England won by an inns & 137 runs 3rd Test (Manchester) England won by inns & 21 runs
1994/95 - South Africa beat New Zealand (Captain W.J. Cronje) 1st Test (Johannesburg) - New Zealand won by 137 runs 2nd Test (Durban) - South Africa won by 8 wkts 3rd Test (Cape Town) - South Africa won by 7 wkts
1994/95 - Pakistan beat Zimbabwe (Captain Salim Malik) 1st Test (Harare) - Zimbabwe won by inns & 64 runs 2nd Test (Bulawayo) - Pakistan won by 8 wkts 3rd Test (Harare) - Pakistan won by 99 runs.
1995/96 - Sri Lanka beat Pakistan (Captain A. Ranatunga) 1st Test (Peshawar) - Pakistan won by an inns & 40 runs 2nd Test (Faisalabad) - Sri Lanka won by 42 runs
3rd Test (Sialkot) - Sri Lanka won by 144 runs 1997/98 - Sri Lanka beat New Zealand (Captain A. Ranatunga) 1st Test (R. Premadasa Stadium) - New Zealand won by 167 runs 2nd Test (Galle Intl Stadium) - Sri Lanka won by inns & 16 runs 3rd Test (SSC) - Sri Lanka won by 164 runs.
Statistical facts from the series
CENTURIES (3)
Sri Lanka (1) 167 - D.P.M. Jayewardene, 2nd Test (Galle)
New Zealand (2) 176* - S.P. Fleming, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 142 - C.D. McMillan, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
HALF-CENTURIES (11)
Sri Lanka (7) 88 - R.S. Kaluwitharana, 3rd Test (SSC) 72 - R.S. Kaluwitharana, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 71 - P.A. de Silva, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 64 - A. Ranatunga, 3rd Test (SSC) 59 - D.P.M. Jayewardene, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 54 - D.P.M. Jayewardene, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
New Zealand (4) 78 - S.P. Fleming, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 78 - S.P. Fleming, 3rd Test (SSC) 67 - A.C. Parore, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 53 - N.J. Astle, 2nd Test (Galle)
CENTURY PARTNERSHIPS (4)
Sri Lanka (3) 3rd wkt - 105 - D.P.M. Jayewardene/P.A. de Silva, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium) 5th wkt - 102 - A. Ranatunga/H.P. Tillekeratne, 3rd Test (SSC) 5th wkt - 101 - A. Ranatunga/R.S. Kaluwitharana, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
New Zealand (1) 4th wkt - 240 - S.P. Fleming/C.D. McMillan, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
FIVE OR MORE WICKETS IN AN INNINGS (7)
Sri Lanka (4) 6/72 - H.D.P.K. Dharmasena, 2nd Test (Galle) 5/30 - M. Muralitharan, 3rd Test (SSC) 5/36 - M.R.C.N. Bandaratilake, 2nd Test (Galle) 5/90 - M. Muralitharan, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
New Zealand (3) 6/64 - D.L. Vettori, 3rd Test (SSC) 5/62 - C.L. Cairns, 3rd Test (SSC) 5/82 - P.J. Wiseman, 1st Test (Premadasa Stadium)
Note: No bowler from either side had a match bag of ten wickets or more. The best for Sri Lanka was 9/83 by M.R.C.N. Bandaratilake, 2nd Test (Galle), and the best for New Zealand was 7/116 by D.L. Vettori, 3rd Test (SSC).
RUN SCORING PATTERN
Sri Lanka scored 1393 runs for the loss of 50 wickets off 502.2 overs and averaged 27.86 runs per wicket and 46.21 runs per 100 balls.
New Zealand scored 1380 runs for the loss of 56 wickets off 525.3 overs and averaged 24.64 runs per wicket and 43.76 runs per 100 balls.