The Sunday Times of London heralded Arjuna Ranatunga's place in history attributing Sri Lanka's victory to her spinners. The Sunday Times observed: 'Arjuna Ranatunga became the first captain in test history twice to lead a side to victory in a three match series from 1-0 down when Sri Lanka completed an emphatic victory over New Zealand.
There was great rejoicing within the 130,000 strong Sri Lankan community in the UK when they heard the news of Sri Lanka's test victory. Asitha Jayaweera, Chairman of the BCCSL Representative Committee in the UK was delighted with the result. It provided a boost to the image of the team prior to their visit to the UK where Sri Lanka will play one test match with England.
Plans are in place to give the Sri Lankan team a royal welcome. Another attachment to the schedule is the first ever match played against billionaire Sir Paul Getty's team after the test. A Sri Lanka Day has been organised in Essex during the tour of the World Champions and a grand dinner dance at the Park Lane Hilton will add a dash of excitement.