“This is what winning Test matches is all about,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said after his team took a 1-0 lead in the Sri Lanka-New Zealand test series.

“Winning tough moments and getting ourselves into a winning position under pressure.” He told reporters after winning the first Test match against the visiting New Zealand team in Galle on Monday evening.

“It was a good Test match for the first two days. New Zealand fought really well with the new ball and put us under a lot of pressure. We managed to fight through that situation and get ourselves into a position where the first innings wouldn’t have mattered.”

According to the Reuters, the defeat meant that for the first time since 1955 – before they won a match at the highest level – New Zealand have lost five tests in a row, following 2-0 series losses against the West Indies and India earlier this year.

“That’s not a nice statistic to hear and we have got to put it right quickly,” captain Ross Taylor told reporters.

“It will be difficult in Colombo (for the next test) and then in South Africa, it won’t get any easier, but we need to pick ourselves up.

“It was a good wicket, as they showed when they batted in the second innings but Herath put us under pressure and he was too good for us at the end of the day. We need a method and a plan to play him for the next match.”

In New Zealand’s second innings, only Daniel Flynn reached 20 and the highest partnership was the last-wicket stand of 21 between Kruger van Wyk (13 not out) and Trent Boult (13).

Herath ripped the heart out of the New Zealand line-up, trapping Taylor lbw for 18, bowling Flynn, and then removing James Franklin and Doug Bracewell in successive deliveries.

The left-armer’s return of 11-108 represent the best match figures in the history of Sri Lanka tests against New Zealand and made him the leading wicket-taker for 2012.

Herath now has 46 wickets from seven tests, one more than England’s Graeme Swann, whose six wickets against India in Ahmedabad took him to 45 victims in 11 matches.

“Rangana Herath was amazing and he has taken responsibility after Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) and Lasith Malinga,” Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said.

“He has been the leader of the pack for us and he has been wonderful for the last 12 to 18 months and the others have worked around him.”

The second and final test of the series starts in Colombo on Sunday.

Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)