Australia registered a convincing 2-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka, winning the second Test by 9 wickets on the fourth day (9th February) in Galle.
Resuming with two wickets in hand, Sri Lanka managed to bat for just six overs in the morning, adding 20 runs. Overnight batter Kusal Mendis reached his second fifty of the match but was eventually dismissed by Nathan Lyon. The turn and bounce offered an easy catch for Steve Smith at short fine leg as he completed his 200th grab in Test cricket, becoming the fifth player to reach the milestone.
Sri Lanka’s last-wicket pair contributed 14 runs before Beau Webster picked up his second wicket to bowl the hosts out for 231. Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon were once again the standout performers with the ball, claiming four wickets each. They also topped the wicket charts for the series, finishing with 16 and 14 wickets, respectively.
Chasing a modest target of 75, Australian openers put on 38 runs before Travis Head fell to Prabath Jayasuriya, caught behind. However, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne ensured there were no further hiccups, steering Australia to victory inside 18 overs with nine wickets in hand. Dimuth Karunaratne, playing his final international match, bowled the final over, bringing the curtain down on his illustrious career in a fitting farewell moment.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 257 (97.4) Kusal Mendis 85*, Dinesh Chandimal 74, Dimuth Karunaratne 36, Mitchell Starc 3/37, Matthew Kuhnemann 3/63, Nathan Lyon 3/96 & 231 (68.1) Angelo Mathews 76, Kusal Mendis 50, Matthew Kuhnemann 4/63, Nathan Lyon 4/84
Australia 414 (106.4) Alex Carey 156, Steve Smith 131, Usman Khawaja 36, Beau Webster 31, Prabath Jayasuriya 5/151, Nishan Peiris 3/94, Ramesh Mendis 2/81 & 75/1 (17.4)
Result – Australia won by 9 wickets.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Nathan Lyon | 11 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 35.48 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | b Nathan Lyon | 36 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 43.37 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | st Alex Carey b Matthew Kuhemann | 74 | 163 | 6 | 1 | 45.40 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Alex Carey b Nathan Lyon | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3.85 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Steve Smith b Travis Head | 13 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 61.90 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Beau Webster b Mitchell Starc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | not out | 85 | 139 | 10 | 1 | 61.15 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Alex Carey b Mitchell Starc | 28 | 94 | 2 | 0 | 29.79 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Steve Smith b Mitchell Starc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nishan Peiris | b Matthew Kuhemann | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Beau Webster b Matthew Kuhemann | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 7.69 |
| Extras | 7 (b 4 , lb 1 , nb 2, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 257/10 (97.4 Overs, RR: 2.63) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 16 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 2.31 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 33.4 | 9 | 63 | 3 | 1.89 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 34 | 5 | 96 | 3 | 2.82 | |
| Beau Webster | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 4.33 | |
| Cooper Connolly | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Travis Head | 8 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 3.88 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Head | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Nishan Peiris | 21 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 95.45 |
| Usman Khawaja | lbw b Nishan Peiris | 36 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 63.16 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Steve Smith | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 131 | 254 | 10 | 1 | 51.57 |
| Alex Carey | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 156 | 188 | 15 | 2 | 82.98 |
| Josh Inglis | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Beau Webster | b Ramesh Mendis | 31 | 62 | 3 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Cooper Connolly | c Ramesh Mendis b Nishan Peiris | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Mitchell Starc | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 8 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 27.59 |
| Nathan Lyon | not out | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Matthew Kuhemann | not out | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Extras | 15 (b 6 , lb 9 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 414/9 (106.4 Overs, RR: 3.88) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Kumara | 7 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 5.29 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3.60 | |
| Nishan Peiris | 31 | 4 | 94 | 3 | 3.03 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 38 | 6 | 151 | 5 | 3.97 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 22.4 | 0 | 81 | 2 | 3.62 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Matthew Kuhemann | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Alex Carey b Matthew Kuhemann | 14 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Beau Webster b Nathan Lyon | 12 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Beau Webster b Nathan Lyon | 76 | 149 | 4 | 1 | 51.01 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Usman Khawaja b Nathan Lyon | 14 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Steve Smith b Matthew Kuhemann | 23 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Steve Smith b Nathan Lyon | 50 | 54 | 5 | 1 | 92.59 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Travis Head b Beau Webster | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Steve Smith b Matthew Kuhemann | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | b Beau Webster | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Nishan Peiris | not out | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Extras | 15 (b 8 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 0, pen 5) |
| Total | 231/10 (68.1 Overs, RR: 3.39) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 23 | 5 | 63 | 4 | 2.74 | |
| Travis Head | 9 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 3.67 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 28 | 3 | 84 | 4 | 3.00 | |
| Cooper Connolly | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Beau Webster | 2.1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.86 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usman Khawaja | not out | 27 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 61.36 |
| Travis Head | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 20 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 86.96 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | not out | 26 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Extras | 2 (b 2 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 75/1 (17.4 Overs, RR: 4.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramesh Mendis | 3 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 5.33 | |
| Nishan Peiris | 8 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4.38 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 6 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | 0.4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7.50 | |
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