Win Warne-Muralitharan trophy for first time :
Lanka flatten Test champs
SA’ADI THAWFEEQ reporting from Galle
GALLE: Sri Lanka laid their hands on the Warne-Muralitharan trophy
for the first time since its inception in 2007 when they completed a
comprehensive 229-run win over the world’s no. 1 ranked Test team
Australia, 35 minutes after lunch on the third day of the second Test to
take a winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the Galle
International Stadium yesterday.
The chief destroyer of the Australian second innings
Dilruwan Perera who finished with career best figures of
6 for 70. |
Sri Lanka won the first Test at Pallekele by 106 runs. Australia were
already up against it when they resumed at a shaky 25 for three chasing
an imposing target of 413 and it was no surprise when they lost their
remaining wickets for 158 runs to be dismissed for 183 with off-spinner
Dilruwan Perera grabbing the limelight from the other two spinners
Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan by capturing ten wickets for 99 to
take the man of the match award.
Apart from Muthiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath the only other
spinners who have captured ten wickets or more in a Test match were
Ajantha Mendis (10/209) v India at Galle 2008 and Upul Chandana (10/210)
v Australia at Cairns in 2004.
Perera for so long the unsung hero with Herath always grabbing the
limelight came to his own at his favourite venue where he has captured
29 of his 55 Test wickets to sow the seeds of doubt on the minds of the
Australian batters. None of them played him with any degree of comfort.
While some played for the turn and were bowled the others were befuddled
by his off-breaks that
Kusal Mendis is about to catch Australian captain Steven
Smith off Dilruwan Perera for 30. Pix by SAMAN MENDIS |
bit the surface and caught them on the wrong foot.
It was the first time Perera who plays for Colts CC in the Premier
League had taken a match bag of ten or more in a Test and his figures of
six for 70 was also another career best effort. In addition to his
quality spin Perera also displayed his prowess as a batsman top scoring
for his team in the second innings with a useful 64 off 89 balls.
Following the heroics of Herath at Pallekele and in the first innings
here where he became only the second Sri Lankan bowler to perform the
hat-trick, and Lakshan Sandakan’s memorable debut also at Pallekele, it
was the turn
of Perera to come to the party. Criticised by his captain Angelo
Mathews for his poor bowling at Pallekele,Perera came roaring back to
send the Australians tumbling to defeat. At the same time Perera also
became the quickest Sri Lankan bowler to 50 Test wickets achieving it in
11 Tests to beat Ajantha Mendis who reached it in 12.
Sri Lanka it seems work their bowling heroes in rotation to torment
the hapless Australian batsmen who have shown in the two Tests so far
that they are nowhere near to tackling the spin tracks of the
subcontinent. Australia have now gone through eight consecutive defeats
in Tests in the subcontinent losing 0-4 to India in 2013, 0-2 to
Pakistan in 2014 and now trailing Sri Lanka 0-2. However much of
preparations they may have gone through there is nothing like facing the
spinners in reality in the middle and the Australian batsmen gave a
feeble display against quality spin bowling at Galleyesterday.
The bottom line is that the no. 1 ranked Test team in the world
cannot play spin which questions the rankings of a Test nation. The
series loss to Sri Lanka means that Australia lose their number
oneposition in the Test rankings.
SCOREBOARD
SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS 281
AUSTRALIA 1ST INNINGS 106
SRI LANKA 2ND INNINGS 237
AUSTRALIA 2ND INNINGS
(25-3 continued)
J Burns c De Silva b Herath 02
D Warner lbw b D Perera 41
N Lyon c Silva b D Perera 00
U Khawaja b D Perera 00
S Smith c Mendis b D Perera 30
A Voges b D Perera 23
M Marsh lbw b Sandakan 13
P Nevill run out 24
M Starc b Herath 26
J Hazlewood c and b D Perera 07
J Holland not out 00
Extras (lb-7) 07
Total (all out, 50.1 overs) 183
Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Burns), 2-10 (Lyon), 3-10 (Khawaja)
4-61 (Warner),5-80 (Smith), 6-119 (Marsh)
7-123 (Voges), 8-164 (Starc), 9-181 (Hazlewood)
10-183 (Nevill)
Bowling: Herath 19.1-1-74-2
D Perera 23-5-70-6
Lakshan 6-1-30-1
De Silva 2-0-2-0 |