Draw is drawn as Australia collapses in trial round
Dinesh Chandimal tore Australia’s heart out in the morning, and Prabath Jayasuriya surgically cut off their limbs in the evening as Sri Lanka surged to a famous series-level win late in day four of the second Test at Galle.
The Aussies succumbed to their first inning defeat in six years, succumbing to 151 in their second inning as the first player Jayasuriya, after the first six wicket innings, ended their tour quickly and finished with a game-best score (12-177) by a Sri Lankan on debut.
Jayasuriya (6-59 in the second inning) confused tourists as he picked up the precious scalps of Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne before keeping Mitchell Swepson’s clean-bowling for the sealing goal in the final hour of day four.
The visitors’ fortunes were confirmed at just 41 overs, with the final margin of victory – one inning and 39 runs – marking a remarkable achievement for a Sri Lankan side who lost five players due to COVID-19, including Pathum Nissanka being the last player. ruled out on Monday morning.
It was all made possible thanks to a superb lightning strike by Chandimal (206no), who took the Australian game still hopeful of a win earlier in the day and single-handedly put it out of reach.
A throw that Chandimal had delivered to the proud Aussies with ease then became an absolute minefield when the Sri Lankan spinner got a chance on it.
Separate collapses of 3-16 at 19 ball, 3-5 in 16 ball and 3-7 at 11 ball colored the chaotic procession of the hitters making their way to and from their locker room at the end of the city court.
It mattered a bit in the end but seeing David Warner and Steve Smith both burn reviews of the lbw decision suggesting the ball tracking would be enlivened into the middle of the stump halfway only added to the sense of desperation.
In stark contrast to the visitors who gave up their last five first-half wickets with just 35 runs to leave Steve Smith stranded at 145no on Saturday morning, Chandimal had strong backing from the tails to add 145 runs to the last four wickets.
But it wasn’t until he got down to his final partner at Kasun Rajitha that he really let go.
Chandimal hit 42 hits in 18 balls which saw him twice knocking Starc into the street just in front of the entrance to Galle’s fort, the second hitting a young man walking near the roundabout at the entrance to the UNESCO Heritage-listed landmark.
An extraordinary double century was sealed when he placed Starc on the railing for the third time, as Chandimal immediately dashed towards the dressing room in jubilant celebration before kneeling down – as if he, like the rest of the patrons watching, couldn’t believe it. how fast he got there.
He is the first Sri Lankan to score a double century test against Australia.
Compared to the frenzy that followed, Australia’s third round started quietly as their opener made it 49 runs from a 190 run lead they squandered before Ramesh Mendis sacked Warner for the second time in the series.
Exit – Warner tries to do a sweeping shot but the ball cannon goes into his pad. The reviews couldn’t save him either #SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/ST3enbid3Q
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) 11 July 2022
Queenslanders Labuschagne and Khawaja need mid-level peace talks having avoided disaster only because of a lackluster attack from Jayasuriya following a frantic mix-up.
Whether protracted anxiety over blunders was a factor in Khawaja’s dismissal – caught in the short leg in what appears to be a deviation from his regular tactics of playing nice long balls from back-footed spin offs – only he will know.
His 29 was his lowest score in 11 innings since the start of the Pakistan tour, with his hitting average for calendar year 2022 dropping below 100 (to 98.66).
What he did was open the floodgates for the influential Sri Lankan spinner when Smith was caught in the fold (becoming the first Australian to produce a hundred and one ducks in the same Test since Khawaja did it against Sri Lanka in Canberra in 2019) and Travis Head was locked up by Mendis.
Labsuchagne became the third Aussie to leave the LBW but showed better judgment than Smith and Warner when he was selected, after considerable deliberation with batting partner Cameron Green, not to send upstairs to the third umpire.
Neither Green (confused as he drove down the track) nor Mitchell Starc (fierce to slip) had no choice but to interfere with the review system that the Australians had used so badly in this Test.
Continuing on 118 with his team six trailing and their lead standing at a modest 67, Chandimal used impeccable scoring in a tail dribble through Australia’s increasingly ineffective effort with the ball.
After continuing to weaken the visiting bowlers with help from Ramesh Mendis (29 of 98) and Maheesh Theekshana (10 of 27), Chandimal launched a superb strike after losing his side’s ninth goal.
Congratulations to Dinesh Chandimal on your double century exam. An extraordinary effort to score over 200 runs in a single innings in notoriously difficult sub-continental conditions. Well played #SLvAUS
— Jason Gillespie (@dizzy259) 11 July 2022
Starc bore the brunt of ruining the standout effort of the left winger who finished 4-89 and, until Chandimal’s game-changing fireworks, consistently became Australia’s most threatening bowler.
Rajitha, facing nine balls but not contributing to a superb 49-distance final stand, ended the Sri Lanka half that went 181 over.
It was Australia’s most dazzled in the Test round in five years, a sharp contrast to the first Test when they beat Sri Lanka by just 22.5 overs in the second half – a distant memory as they are forced to reflect on their struggles a week later.
Qantas Tours in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Test Squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Dinesh Chandimal, Ramesh Mendis, Chamika Karunaratne, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Lakshitha Manasinghe Jayasuriya, Lakshan Sandakan
Australian Test Squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc , Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. Standby players: Matthew Kuhnemann, Todd Murphy
June 29 – July 3 Australia wins by 10 wickets
July 8-12: Sri Lanka wins by one inning and 39 runs
Sri Lanka v Australia Test Match will be live on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports
#Draw #drawn #Australia #collapses #trial
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