Sri Lanka's dominant series win against New Zealand has been one to savour not just for the way they won the second Test but also because it allows, even fleetingly, for them to ponder the prospect of a World Test Championship [WTC] final berth next year.

This victory marked Sri Lanka's fifth win in the current cycle, boosting their points percentage (PCT) to 55.56%. The third-placed SL also own four defeats. On the other hand, New Zealand have suffered their fifth loss in eight matches of WTC 2023-25, causing their PCT to drop to 37.50%. They are now seventh in the table with three wins.

With this win, hosts Sri Lanka completed a 2-0 clean sweep of SL vs NZ two-match Test series, having also secured victory in the first Test in Galle by 63 runs.