Herath's heroics and Siriwardana's promising entry

Rangana Herath (15 wickets at 16.13)

Before the tour Herath floated the idea that he could be possibly thinking about beginning to consider retirement next year. He then went on to suggest that Sri Lanka need him in the team until his fingers begin falling off. He wins so many matches on the Galle surface, teammates should be forced to cut a large disk out of that pitch and carry Herath around on it like one of those ancient Gallic chieftains. He didn't exactly have to work hard for his wicket in this series. But who deserves a few cheap scalps better than Herath?

Dhammika Prasad (9 wickets at 15.33)

The pitches at Galle and the P Sara Oval were very spin friendly, but Prasad kept pounding them like a schoolyard bully until some lunch money fell out. He has become a wonderfully-controlled bowler after pinning down and eradicating his injury woes. He's also played 12 Tests in a row now, which for a Sri Lanka seamer of this decade, is verging on miraculous. Prasad is nowhere near as skillful, but there are whispers emerging that he has become Sri Lanka's most reliable seam bowler since Chaminda Vaas.

Dimuth Karunaratne (199 runs at 66.33)

Once a batsman who would make it into the 20s then waste his starts, Karunaratne suddenly seems to have the opposite problem. He goes big when he bats more than fifty balls, as suggested by his 186 which set the tone for the series, but the hundreds are well-spaced out by modest scores; he managed 13 and 0 at the P Sara Oval. Still, another encouraging series in which his game appears to be expanding.

Milinda Siriwardana (7 wickets at 17.71, 111 runs at 37)

As promising a debut series as any Sri Lanka cricketer has had recently, Siriwardene called upon the confidence and subtlety gleaned from his years in the Sri Lanka domestic circuit to produce the performance of the match in the second Test. He has been a batting allrounder in first-class cricket, but is adamant his bowling will catch up. Won't always get such excellent spin-bowling conditions in his career, but the breakthroughs he made were critical.

Dinesh Chandimal (188 runs at 62.66)

Played another long, charmed innings at Galle, where almost everything he tries seems to come off. His is such an energetic, off-kilter brand of cricket that you begin to look forward to him coming in at no.4. Chandimal's offerings at P Sara were light, but he doesn't seem like the kind of player that is destined to become a consistent run machine like Kumar Sangakkara or Angelo Mathews. He is also effervescent in the infield. Sri Lanka's fielding has been so poor lately, that Chandimal's outstanding grab to dismiss Darren Bravo at Galle seems like the best Sri Lankan catch since the Triassic.

Dilruwan Perera (4 wickets at 16.25)

Doesn't have Tharindu Kaushal's big turn, but he is a mature, resourceful bowler, who manufactures a wicket from somewhere. He bowled on a very helpful P Sara track, of course, but was quick to clean out West Indies' tail in the first innings. With Kaushal now likely needing to work more intensively on his offbreak, Dilruwan reasserts himself as Herath's tandem.

Angelo Mathews (108 runs at 36, 7 slip catches)

For a change, Mathews didn't have to score all Sri Lanka's runs himself. In Galle, he even got to come in at 339 for 3, instead of 30 for 3. This is such a rare event, Sri Lanka should have celebrated Mathews' arrival at the crease with party horns, cake and streamers. He had a quieter series in which his most valuable batting contribution was the 46 in the second innings at P Sara, as Sri Lanka threatened to squander their advantage. He has not always been a convincing slip, but is suddenly outstanding to the spinners, in that position. Seemed to make a habit of prematurely removing bowlers from the attack, but as West Indies' batting was so meagre, this rarely hurt Sri Lanka.

Nuwan Pradeep (2 wickets at 59.50)

Did not bowl nearly as badly as his figures suggest. Pradeep needs a bit of movement off the surface to be a penetrative bowler, and neither surface provided him that. He still kept his lines tight and created pressure. Was one of those bowlers who was taken out of the attack just as he seemed to be warming to his work. Pradeep is usually an appalling fielder, but in this series, managed to complete tasks such as stopping a rolling ball with his hands, and picking it cleanly up off the surface, which is progress that should bring tears to the coaches' eyes.

Kusal Perera (44 runs at 14.66, 6 catches, 3 stumpings)

A poor series with the bat for Kusal, but a heartening one behind the stumps. He insists on spitting on Sri Lanka's grand wicketkeeping tradition of over-appealing like a lunatic, but his glovework itself showed improvement. Got himself into bad positions once or twice, but his reflexes bailed him out.

Kusal Mendis (52 runs at 26)

Picked almost solely on potential, Mendis appeared comfortable during his second innings, in which he struck an important 39. With some batsmen from the A side making cases for inclusion, however, Mendis may have to go back to domestic cricket before he plays a second Test.

Kaushal Silva (49 at 16.33)

A decidedly modest series to follow another modest outing against India. Kaushal's game is centred around his defence, but at times in the series, it seemed like he didn't know where to score. Will need big runs soon, with the likes of A-team batsman Udara Jayasundera breathing down his neck.

Tharindu Kaushal (1 wicket at 92)

He only bowled one very poor spell, but it was enough to get him dropped, after what has been a tough two weeks for him. He is still a bowler with a big future, Sri Lanka hopes, but better control is required.

Lahiru Thirimanne (16 runs at 16)

Batted only the one innings, but it was thought that taking Thirimanne out of the firing line would help him regain his touch. He is the second young batsman to be dropped after being made vice-captain, which has prompted suggestions that that position is cursed. The selectors might consider making the opposition's best player Sri Lanka's vice-captain in coming series.