Australian spinners storm Galle fortress, as Sri Lanka slumps to worst defeat ever

This Test match has also added to some welcome headaches for the national selectors in terms of how to fit so many capable batters into their XI for the WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s in June. Cameron Green is on course to return to fitness, after Josh Inglis’ sparkling debut hundred, and Usman Khawaja returned to form with a career-high 232 that earned him the player of the match award.

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After losing two sessions to rain on day three, the tourists were conscious of not wasting any time – even delegating members of support staff as boundary riders to throw the ball back as soon as possible whenever the ball hit the rope.

They made brutally quick work of Sri Lanka’s remaining first innings wickets on the fourth morning, claiming 5-9 in little more than four overs, before Smith sent Sri Lanka in again. It was the only decision that made sense, given fresh bowlers and forecast rain.

Kuhnemann had been the most consistently dangerous member of the bowling attack with his wristy left-arm spin. It was he who broke a pesky stand between Chandimal and Kusal Mendis by coaxing the wicketkeeper to sweep at a ball that dropped and then bounced, resulting in top edge to deep midwicket.

Lyon followed up by beating Chandimal on the reverse sweep with a quicker, flatter ball, resulting in an lbw verdict that was upheld on DRS.

That put the Australians into the tail, and Kuhnemann flummoxed his opposite number Prabath Jayasuriya with flight and turn before Nishan Peiris squeezed Lyon to short leg for Inglis’ first Test catch. Jeffrey Vandersay skied Kuhnemann to hand the former Queenslander the second five-wicket haul of his short Test career after he also did the trick in Indore in 2023.

When Sri Lanka’s openers walked out 10 minutes later, Starc (2-13 and 1-11) swung the new ball with the help of the sea breeze to pin Oshada Fernando lbw. Murphy then used square seam to befuddle Dimuth Karunaratne, who shouldered arms to what he thought was an off-break, only to hear it skid on and clatter into the stumps.

Lyon’s strike right on the adjournment gave the tourists every chance – weather permitting – to wrap this match up with a day to spare. Kamindu Mendis played his shots in early afternoon, but it would cost him his wicket when he tried to hoist Kuhnemann over the leg side two balls in a row and skied one into the breeze. Starc waited for an eternity under the chance, but took it safely.

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Next over Lyon nabbed Angelo Mathews when a reverse sweep attempt drew a top edge onto the body and into the hands of bat/pad. For a moment, the Australians thought they had Kusal Mendis lbw to Kuhnemann on the sweep, only for third umpire Joel Wilson to rule that some noise on Snicko might have meant the ball hit the bat.

That decision freed Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva to raise Sri Lanka’s first 50 stand of the match. But Kuhnemann coaxed a miscue to cover from Dhananjaya, Lyon tempted Mendis down the track for Alex Carey to stump him despite a fumble, and a vast Australian victory was just a matter of time. Jeffrey Vandersay’s tailend 50 merely delayed the inevitable.

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