Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
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Dinesh Chandimal screams in delight after reaching his maiden Test double century, the first by a Sri Lankan against Australia
Prabath Jayasuriya returned the best bowling figures in a Test by a Sri Lankan with 12 wickets
A maiden Test double century from Dinesh Chandimal, the first by a Sri Lankan against Australia coupled with a dream debut from left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya who took a match bag of 12 wickets saw Sri Lanka bounce back from their ten-wicket defeat in the first Test to thrash Australia by an innings and 39 runs and win the second Test in four days at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.
The win saw Sri Lanka draw the two-match series played for the Warne-Muralitharan trophy one-all. Australia however as the current holders retain the trophy.
Buoyed by Chandimal’s spectacular unbeaten knock of 206, Sri Lanka replying to Australia’s first innings of 364, piled on their highest total against Australia 554, to take a first innings lead of 190.
Australia had 56 overs to bat out the day but succumbed to 151 all out in 41 overs in a little less than three hours to suffer their first innings defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka. The destroyer of Australia’s second innings was once again Jayasuriya who followed his first innings performance of six for 118 with another incredible bowling effort to take 6 for 59.
His match bag of 12 for 177 was the fourth best by a bowler on debut in Test cricket history and the best by a Sri Lankan bowler on debut surpassing another left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama’s 11 for 178 against Bangladesh last year.
Jayasuriya wrought havoc among the Australian batting line up with his consistent line and length that tested the Australian batsmen’s patience on a turning pitch, that was not as vicious as the one prepared for the first Test. Like the Lankan batsmen in the first Test, the majority of Australians brought about their own downfall by attempting to sweep across the line. All ten Australian wickets in the second innings was captured by the Lankan spinners with Ramesh Mendis and debutant Maheesh Theekshana picking up two apiece.
Chandimal covered himself with glory with a spectacular double century which was his first in Test cricket and the first by a Sri Lankan batsman against Australia. Resuming at 118, Chandimal held the Sri Lankan first innings together with a display of sensational hitting especially against Australia’s two quick bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins to carve out a magnificent 206* off 326 balls inclusive of five sixes and 16 fours.
His double century took him past Kumar Sangakkara’s innings of 192 at Hobart in 2007 which had stood as the highest individual innings for Sri Lanka against Australia. Thanks to Chandimal’s extraordinary innings Sri Lanka surpassed their previous highest total against Australia of 547-8 decl at the SSC in 1992.
Chandimal reached his 150 off 281 balls (12 fours, 1 six) and raced to his double hundred from 159 to 201 scoring 42 off 18 balls with three fours and four sixes off Starc and Cummins. He completed his double hundred by hoisting Starc for two consecutive sixes in an extraordinary exhibition of hitting.
Chandimal frustrated the Australian bowling by building partnerships of 68 for the seventh wicket with Ramesh Mendis (29) and 49 for the last wicket with Kasun Rajitha (0).
Starc whose place in the team was doubtful before the start of the Test with Glenn Maxwell being spoken of as his replacement, was Australia’s best bowler with four wickets, while Nathan Lyon the destroyer of the Lankan batting in the first Test finished with two wickets that cost him 194 runs off 64 overs – the most number bowled by anyone in one single innings at this venue surpassing Rangana Herath who sent down 62.
Australia will rue the caught behind decision when Chandimal was on 30 which umpire Kumar Dharmasena negatived which cost them dearly but had only themselves to blame as they had already burnt their reviews.
A win for Sri Lanka looked unlikely on the first day after Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne had racked up a century each and Australia ended day one on 298-5. It was Jayasuriya who turned the match in Sri Lanka’s favour with a masterful bowling performance on a pitch that was nowhere as helpful as the first Test. Drafted into the side because of a spate of COVID-19 cases that had hit the team, he took six wickets to cause an Australian collapse losing their last five wickets for 35.
Then it was the Sri Lankan batsmen’s turn with no less than five of them racking up scores of fifty plus with Chandimal converting his into a match-winning double hundred that simply took the game away from Australia. The spinners did the rest.
Jayasuriya took the Player of the Match award and Chandimal the Player of the Series.
