By the time the French were in a position to attack, the fleets were to the south-east. At 14:00, having come down on the British, line abreast, Suffren had his ships form line ahead and at 14:30, action ensued. Having poorly executed the manoeuvres, the French attack was disjointed. with a distant engagement occurring at the front and rear of the line. Towards the centre however, a heavy close-action took place, initially with "Sultan", "Superb", "Burford", "Eagle", "Hero" and "Monarca" against "Héros", "Illustre" and "Ajax". By the time "Brillant" and "Artésien" arrived in support of their French comrades, "Ajax" had been so badly damaged, she was forced to withdraw. At 17:30 the wind changed, allowing the French van to engage. The British ships at the centre, now outnumbered by a fresh enemy force, received heavy fire. The battle finished when it became too dark to continue. Both sides remained in the vicinity until the following morning when the French sailed for Trincomalee, and the British for Madras. At the end of the fight, the British were left with 51 dead and 283 wounded, the French 82 dead and 255 wounded. Watt was one of those killed at Trincomalee. He was replaced by Captain Andrew Mitchell who commanded "Sultan" at the Battle of Cuddalore on 20 June 1783.