Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh Tests 2025: 1–0 Sri Lanka — Pathum Nissanka 369 Runs Player of Series, Jayasuriya 5/56, 2nd Test Colombo Win by Innings and 78 Runs

Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh 1–0 in the 2-match Test series played at Galle and Colombo in June 2025, with Pathum Nissanka named Player of the Series for 369 runs across the two matches — the defining batting performance of the series that secured Sri Lanka maximum points from the opening series of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle. The series began with the WTC 2025–27 cycle's very first Test match, played at the Galle International Stadium starting 17 June 2025 — making this Bangladesh's tour of Sri Lanka the opening bilateral series of the new WTC competition. First Test Galle (June 17–21, 2025): The Galle Test produced a high-scoring draw in which Bangladesh batted with considerable determination, recording a first-innings total of 495 — a challenging score on any ground in the world and especially notable at Galle, which has historically been a bowlers' surface due to its significant turn and bounce as the match progresses. Bangladesh's 495 was built on Mushfiqur Rahim's 163 and Shanto's 148 — two significant partnerships that prevented Sri Lanka's spinners from restricting Bangladesh in the way Galle surfaces typically assist. Sri Lanka replied with 485 in their own first innings, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 187 — an innings that kept Sri Lanka level with Bangladesh despite the depth of the Bangladesh batting lineup. Nissanka's 187 at Galle, built across patient accumulation on a turning surface, established him immediately as the series' key batting performer and the player most capable of adapting to variable bounce and spin. Bangladesh then declared their second innings at 285/6d, setting Sri Lanka a target of 296 in the final-day session. Sri Lanka batted out the final session at 72/4 — losing four wickets but avoiding defeat — and the match was drawn. Najmul Hossain Shanto was named Player of the Match for his 148 in Bangladesh's strong first innings. Second Test Colombo SSC (June 25–28, 2025): Sri Lanka dominated the second Test from start to finish, compiling 458 in their only innings and then bowling Bangladesh out twice within the match's final three days. Pathum Nissanka scored 146 not out in Sri Lanka's 458, anchoring the innings with the same patient authority he had shown in Galle but now converting to match-winning impact as Sri Lanka's total proved too large for Bangladesh to match. Bangladesh's two innings of 247 and 133 left them 78 runs short of avoiding the follow-on defeat: Sri Lanka won by an innings and 78 runs — a comprehensive result that gave Sri Lanka their 1–0 series win and maximum WTC 2025–27 points from the first series of the new cycle. Prabath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka's left-arm orthodox spin bowler, took 5/56 in Bangladesh's second innings — his 12th five-wicket haul in Test cricket, confirming his status as one of the world's most productive spin bowlers in home conditions.

Nissanka's 369-Run Series: Sri Lanka's Batting Foundation at Galle and Colombo

Pathum Nissanka's 369 runs across the two-Test series — 187 in Galle and 146* in Colombo — made him the dominant batter of the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka 2025 and the unanimous Player of the Series award winner. Nissanka's ability to score at volume on surfaces that typically favour spinners reflects the technical quality he has developed as Sri Lanka's most reliable opening batter: he plays spin with patience, uses his feet to reach the pitch of the ball when appropriate, and defends on the back foot when the surface offers sharp turn. At Galle — where the ball turns more than almost any other Test ground in the world as the match progresses — Nissanka's 187 in the first innings required him to navigate Bangladesh's spinners across two days of batting while accumulating boundaries when the ball arrived in scoring areas. His innings allowed Sri Lanka to reach 485 in reply to Bangladesh's 495, preventing Bangladesh from having a significant first-innings lead that would have given their spinners and pace bowlers a platform to push for victory. At Colombo, where Sri Lanka's pitch at the SSC (Sinhalese Sports Club Ground) also traditionally favours spin, Nissanka's 146* in Sri Lanka's only innings of 458 provided the batting anchor around which other Sri Lanka middle-order contributions were built — enabling Sri Lanka to compile a total so large that Bangladesh's two innings of 247 and 133 never came close to avoiding the innings defeat. His 369-run series total placed him as the highest run-scorer in the Bangladesh tour of Sri Lanka 2025, and the Player of the Series award reflected his contribution to Sri Lanka winning the inaugural series of the WTC 2025–27 cycle by 1–0.

Jayasuriya's 12th Five-Wicket Haul and Sri Lanka's Spin Dominance

Prabath Jayasuriya's 5/56 in Bangladesh's second innings of the Colombo SSC Test was the bowling highlight of the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh 2025 series and his 12th five-wicket haul in Tests — a remarkable return for a left-arm orthodox spinner who has established himself as the most potent match-winning spin bowler in home conditions in world cricket. Jayasuriya's consistent ability to take five-wicket hauls in a short Test career reflects the quality of the Colombo and Galle pitches for his style — surfaces that produce uneven bounce, variable carry, and sharp turn as the days progress — but also his own skill in using flight, dip, and changes of pace to beat batters who set up to counter his standard delivery. Bangladesh's second-innings total of 133 at Colombo, in which Jayasuriya dismissed five batters for 56 runs, confirmed that Sri Lanka's spin attack was capable of bowling out any visiting batting lineup on home conditions once the pitch had been in play for three or four days. Sri Lanka won the WTC 2025–27 opening series 1–0 — a result that gave them maximum points from the cycle's first series — and set a strong marker for their campaign through the 2025–27 competition.