
Chaminda Vaas took five for 61 to lead Sri Lanka to a historic first win in the Caribbean, defeating West Indies by 121 runs with 6.4 overs left in the opening Test on Wednesday.
West Indies, resuming on 96 for one and needing 437 for victory, tried holding out for a draw and were bowled out for 315 at Providence Stadium. Ace off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who bowled for most of the final day, chipped in with three for 112.
Sri Lanka lost 1-0 on both previous visits to the Caribbean in 1997 and 2003. In a tense final hour, Vaas bagged both final wickets with the new ball. He forced Jerome Taylor to edge a delivery to second slip, then four overs later and about 15 minutes from stumps, he got Daren Powell to loft to midoff where Muralitharan grasped a one-handed catch over his head to provide Vaas with his 12th five-wicket hauls in Tests.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 476-8 decl & 240-7 decl beat West Indies 280 and 315 (Dwayne Bravo 83, Ramnaresh Sarwan 72; Vaas 5-61, Muralitharan 3-112) by 121 runs.