Herath's birthday bash

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 and he was the man of the match.

"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 for 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 for 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 for 89 off 36 overs. In the first innings he took 5 for 68. It was the third time he has taken 10 wickets or more in a test, improving on his 12 for 171 against England at Galle last year.

Under pressure Mathews

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.

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