
Australia recorded their biggest win over Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs in also beating a highly forecast rain to bowling out the host team for 165 and 247 in claiming 15 wickets on the penultimate fourth day of the Murali-Warne first test match to go 1-up at the Galle International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Sri Lanka’s last first iñnings hopes in Dinesh Chandimal on 63 and Kusal Mendis of a match saving sixth wicket partnership to making Australia bat again disintegrated in double quick time in a double strike by Australia in getting rid of both with the score on 156 as Sri Lanka lost the last 5 wickets for just 9 runs with Matthew Kuhnemann finishing with figures of 5 for 63 and 4 for 86
Mendis was the first to go on resumption a Kuhnemann victim holing out to Todd Murphy having added 11 to his overnight 10. Chandimal added 9 to his overnight 63 falling leg before wicket to Nathan Lyon.
It took Australia only 106.5 overs in all to finish off the match in comparison to the 154 overs Steve Smith’s team consumed in that mammoth 654 for 6 declared as the Lankans were dismissed for 247 following on with ironically No 9 Jeffrey Vandersay, who was in the team for his bowling credentials, doing what the specialist batsmen failed to do by scoring a praiseworthy half century 53 off 47 balls reaching the boundary on 7 occasions to the further gall of whacking two over the top.
A sorry sight was the mannerism by which the top Lankan batsmen fell where clearly the bottom line to defeat was an uncalled for hurry to trying to force the Australian bowling attack and throwing their wickets away where the need of the hour was to put country first and do their best to staying at the wicket and save the game, which had they done and lost would have gone down honorably with a fight.
It was a pathetic upfront coming apart with Oshada Fernando second time an LBW prey, this time to Mitchell Starc for 6 facing 10 deliveries while Sri Lanka’s master batsman Dimuth Karunaratne sadly folded up like a butterfly his stumps rattled by Todd Murphy for a fourth ball duck.
It fell on Dinesh Chandimal to once again break Sri Lanka from that absolute freeze with a 41-ball 31 with 3 boundaries while next in Angelo Mathews, nowhere near his hey day heroics, try as he might in withering times with age to his disadvantage, got to 41 off 54 hitting 6 boundaries falling to the spin of Nathan Lyon.
Kamindu Mendis displayed his intent to go after the bowling his 4 boundaries and a six in making 32 off 26 not serving Sri Lanka’s cause becoming a Kuhnemann victim holing to Starc.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva too played a hurried 39 off 50 preferring to target the boundary 8 times but paying the price when Kuhnemann had him caught by Webster while Kusal Mendis made 34 off 41 with 4 boundaries in that stereo type manner the Lankan innings folded up.
Chief Scores
Australia 654
Sri Lanka 165 (52.2 Overs)
(Dinesh Chandimal 72, Matthew Kuhnemann 5/63, Nathan Lyon 3/57, Mitchell Starc 2/13)
Following on 247 (54.3 Overs)
(Jeffrey Vandersay 53, Angelo Mathews 41, Dhananjaya de Silva 39, Kusal Mendis 34, Dinesh Chandimal 31, Nathan Lyon 4/78, Matthew Kuhnemann 4/86, Mitchell Starc 1/14, Todd Murphy 1/57)
source: sri lanka cricket.lk