The first Test here in Galle ended in a comprehensive win for the visitors as Australia bowled out Sri Lanka twice in one day by an innings and 242 runs. It is also the biggest defeat by runs Sri Lanka have suffered by runs in any innings loss in Test cricket. After Steve Smith (141) and Usman Khawaja (232) had guided Australia to 654, Sri Lanka were dismissed for 165 and 247. Matthew Kuhnemann took nine wickets, while Nathan Lyon had seven. Australia Orchestrated Their Biggest-Ever Innings Victory Against SL In 1st Test .
TOSS-
Australia have won the toss and opted to bat .
TEAMS LINE UP-
Sri Lanka Squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
Australia Squad:
Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy
DAY 1-
The real damage was done to Sri Lanka in the first two sessions, first courtesy of Head. He gave Australia a rollicking start by hitting Asitha Fernando for three fours in the first over. Khawaja and Head hit three more boundaries in Asitha’s third over but on 23, Head survived an LBW call after the hosts did not review the decision, despite ball-tracking showing three reds. He was finally caught at long-on in a 40-ball 57 to relieve some pressure on Sri Lanka.
Khawaja nurdled his way to 50 but was dropped at slip a few overs later. In one of the few moments of joy for Sri Lanka, however, Vandersay struck from the other end after Dhananjaya de Silva held an edge off Labuschagne two overs before Lunch. But an over later, Prabath Jayasuriya put down Smith off his own bowling after he reached 10,000 runs.
In their two sessions of bat and ball, and especially as the Sri Lankans kept throwing spin and not giving up on lines outside leg-stump. It was like a trap of hope laid by the Sri Lankan spinners, biding their time for the erstwhile batting order to make an error. But it became impotent as Smith was satisfied by keeping padding for the balls. Jayasuriya did get the edge of Khawaja but the batter’s slog-sweep safely landed near deep square-leg.
Another stellar century from Usman Khawaja (147\*) and Steve Smith (104\*) put Australia in the driving seat on Day 1 of the first Test in Galle. Travis Head blazed his way to a 35-ball 50 in the first hour of play to lay the platform for the two batters. Sri Lanka just didn’t show up on Day 1 and will have only themselves to blame, having dropped several chances including jumping at Khawaja in particular. At stumps on Day 1, Australia were 330/2.
DAY 2-
Sri Lanka let Khawaja escape a run-out when he lazily drifted outside his crease but did get Smith in the first over after the drinks break. It was a very nice set up by Vandersay who had spun the first ball sharply past his outside edge. He repeated the trick a few balls later which wintered it’s line and straightened to bang Smith on the back-leg to plumb him in front of the stumps. Khawaja then went on to reach his 200 with a single off Prabath Jayasuriya before raising his bat and helmet to the crowd.
Khawaja and Inglis also eased the ball into the gaps for ones and twos as the latter moved to 50 as the second session began, and though Davidson found a little bit of bounce the ball largely lay right in the hitting zone. Inglis then lifted the pull and the sweep over the head of his angles to great effect, sending the bowlers to the fence as runs began to flow for Australia. Inglis was given out LBW only to be saved on 58 after a faint nick off the bat.
Inglis pulled the long levers out before drinks, crisply hitting four boundaries and a four off Jeffrey Vandersay. Khawaja, on 232, edged behind off Jayasuriya. He drove one through a gully for four to take him to 100, then trotted to his 98 with a reverse sweep. His hundred came with a punch to extra cover for three, his milestone coming up at his parents in the stands.
But the impact-plagued 100 came to an end after he lobbed one to mid-off as Jayasuriya got his third. Alex Carey and Beau Webster rotated the strike late in the session to guide Australia to 600. In fact, Jayasuriya delivered, in total, 60 overs, the most he has bowled in an innings.
However, Fernando got off the mark even earlier with a four before being squared up by Matthew Kuhnemann, who found a pad as well. Hosts’ woes deepened as Starc had Dimuth Karunaratne nick behind to gully. Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Matthews got a boundary each and even the former was dropped by McSweeney. But Matthews jabbed one on to his pads and that was pounced on by the short-leg fielder. Rain stopped play early with Kamindu Mendis and Chandimal just able to bat out to Stumps.
DAY 3-
It must be horrible to watch Sri Lanka’s slumped start to the day .There was nothing worse than knowing Sri Lanka were already a tailspin when Day 3 started out for them, setting off on the scoreboard of 44/3 with Australian players punching 654/6. Nathan Lyon came close to dismissing Dinesh Chandimal in the first over of the day, but the outside edge fell short of Steve Smith at first slip. Mitchell Starc at the other end beat the outside edge of Kamindu Mendis’s bat a couple of times before getting him caught behind down the leg side off a full delivery angled in in his next over.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Chandimal then kept the score going with their fight, crossing the 100-run mark in 12 overs. But just after drinks, the former played silly to throw away his wicket, giving Matthew Kuhnemann the charge and missing his shot to be stumped. Chandimal, in company of Kusal Mendis, raised his 31st Test fifty in subsequent over. He then hit a couple of boundaries off the spin of Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy before a steady drizzle arrived to send the players indoors and the session to an early end.
DAY 4-
Sri Lanka started after the overnight on 136/5 with a bid to stave off the follow-on on the brightest morning of the game to date. But that resolve lasted about half an hour. Kuhnemann, who set the trap for Kusal Mendis as the overnight batters took the home team past the 150-run mark, floated one up and the batter leaning in to sweep fetched a top-edge that was safely pouched in the deep. After that, the collapse was swift.
At the other end, Lyon removed the set batter. It was one reverse too many for Dinesh Chandimal who decided to sweep once too often, this time a plumb in front. He reviewed, but to no avail. Kuhnemann followed by having Prabath Jayasuriya stumped to take his fourth and complete his fifer by also dismissing Jeferry Vandersay, and in between was Lyon who had Nishan Peiris caught at short-leg.
Sri Lanka collapsed for just 29 runs inside an hour for their second-half of batting, and three more in the session to head to Lunch staring at defeat. After that, the hosts again endured a nightmarish start with bat. Mitchell Starc then struck with the first ball of his second over, trapping Oshada Fernando dead in front with an inswinging yorker. The opener burnt a review going back. Then, in the next over, Dimuth Karunaratne was walked out by his off-stump.
At 6/2, Angelo Matthews associated with Chandimal to bring the innings back on track and together, the two batters put on a 69-run stand which was the best partnership that Sri Lanka had generated in the match during any of the two innings. Chandimal got himself going, striking two balls for four runs on consecutive deliveries from Starc, who was then replaced with Kuhnemann. The spinners started getting hit around a touch and Murphy was on the receiving end of some hat-trick of boundaries from Mathews’ bat.
However, on one stroke of Lunch, Lyon castled Chandimal in the second over of the session and undid the little bit of effort that Sri Lanka had put in. Mathews shared 39 runs with Kamindu Mendis (26 off 32), doing the bulk of the scoring during the afternoon session. Kamindu threw away a perfect start after briefly counterattacking, however, when he skipped down the track to slog Kuhnemann but found Starc at cow corner instead. Three balls later, and without Sri Lanka having added a run to their score, they lost Mathews as well. The Sri Lankan allrounder prepped for a reverse sweep off one that jagged sharply and took a glove edge to the right of Travis Head at short-leg.
Over the next 14 overs or so, Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva then kept the visitors at bay with a 65-run stand for the sixth wicket that surpassed Sri Lanka’s score in their first innings. Dhananjaya, though, added his name to the lengthy list of Sri Lankan batters to have wasted perfectly acceptable starts when he reached for an ill-judged loft to hand his fifth wicket of the day to Kuhnemann. And just after the next over, Lyon had Kusal stumped as on 34 to complete a double whammy for the hosts.
Vandersay came in, despite the fact that it was a losing battle, with an aggressive approach and took on the Australian bowling. The left-handed wicketkeeper had already lost two partners in quick succession but went on to bring up his maiden Test half-century, which pushed Sri Lanka past 200. He even hit sixes in consecutive overs against lightning-rod Australians spinners, and brought up his fifty with a second maximum off Kuhnemann. But he fell next delivery for an entertaining 53 off 47 balls and Sri Lanka capitulated to a huge defeat.
Brief scores:
Australia 654/6 decl (Usman Khawaja 232, Steven Smith 141, Josh Inglis 102; Jeffery Vandersay 3-182, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-193) beat Sri Lanka 165 (Dinesh Chandimal 72; Matthew Kuhnemann 5-63) & 247 f/o (Jeffery Vandersay 53; Nathan Lyon 4-78, Matthew Kuhnemann 4-86) by an innings and 242 runs.