The current ICC World Test Championship period has come to an end, following the completion of the second Test between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka finally showed some fight on the fourth day in Wellington, but skipper Tim Southee (3/51) got the final breakthrough to ensure New Zealand clinched a comfortable innings and 58-run victory over Dimuth Karunaratne's side.

The triumph helped New Zealand jump from eighth to sixth on the World Test Championship standings, with Pakistan and West Indies each dropping a place following the final Test of the period.

There is of course still the World Test Championship final ahead, with Australia and India scheduled to do battle in the one-off Test at The Oval in London at the start of June after they finished in the top two positions on the standings.

South Africa finish in third place and narrowly behind India in second, while England rise to third and in front of Sri Lanka following the Asian nation's 2-0 series loss to New Zealand.

Sri Lanka could have qualified for the final with a 2-0 series sweep over New Zealand, but a narrow loss in the first match of the series and a disappointing effort in the second Test saw them drop to fifth on the standings.

There were some positives for the island nation on Monday, with Dhananjaya de Silva (98), Nishan Madushka (39) and Kasun Rajitha (20) frustrating New Zealand and making it hard for the hosts to take wickets.

But Blair Tickner (3/84), Michael Bracewell (2/100) and Southee dug deep to ensure the Kiwis finished the series and the World Test Championship period on a high.

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