Sri Lanka crushed India by an innings and 77 runs in the deciding third test to claim the series 2-1 on Sunday.
The hosts bowled India out for 299 in their second innings midway through the fifth morning at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground to complete the victory.
The home team had piled up 610 for six declared in reply to India’s first innings 234 all out.
Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan removed Zaheer Khan for a defiant 45 to claim the last wicket and signal victory for the hosts.
It was Sri Lanka’s first home series victory in four attempts and only their second in nine series overall against India, the previous one being a 1-0 effort in a three-match home series in 1985-86.
The match decisively turned Sri Lanka’s way when India, determined to salvage a draw, lost four wickets for only 25 runs in the final session of play on the fourth day.
Left-arm Chaminda Vaas struck the first blow in the morning by trapping Hemang Badani lbw for 11 in the day’s fifth over.
Indian batsmen’s poor running between the wickets continued when Sameer Dighe was run out for four in the next over to become the third run out victim after Rahul Dravid and Mohammad Kaif the previous day.
Dighe drove Muralitharan to mid-on and took off for a non-existent single to be stranded mid-pitch as wicket-keeper Kumar Sangakkara collected the throw from Marvan Atapattu and casually whipped off the bails.
But gritty batting by Harbhajan Singh (17) and Khan enabled India to add 78 runs for the last two wickets.
Singh hit a four and a six before he pulled left-arm Vaas to Marvan Atapattu at deep square-leg to end an enterprising 48-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Vaas finished with 2-62.
Khan carried on, hoisting Muralitharan for two huge sixes besides hammering five fours before the off-spinner ended his 40-ball effort.
Khan added 30 runs with last man Prasad before he holed out to Atapattu at long-on.
Muralitharan, who claimed his sixth 10-wicket haul in tests after a second best haul of eight for 87 in the Indian first innings, finished with a match haul of 11-196.
**The 29-year-old was named both the man-of-the-match and the player-of-the-series.
Sri Lanka won the first test in Galle by 10 wickets and India bounced back to take the second Kandy game by seven wickets in matches which ended in four days coming into the third test.**
Sri Lanka, who have struggled to impose their home advantage on rivals, won their first home series since defeating Australia 1-0 in a three-game series in 1999.
They lost 2-0 to Pakistan and drew 1-1 against South Africa last year before going down 2-1 to England early this year.