Sri Lanka vs Australia 2nd Test Match Highlights:
There is one team in World Cricket that is ready to fight giants amidst the emotional turmoil at home and still make it look easy. That team is Sri Lanka. There is big resistance taking place in the country and the glimpse of the same we saw in the field in the 2nd test as the hosts beat the visitors by an innings and 39 runs.
Australia’s batting performance crumbled in the 2nd test. Sri Lanka showed tenacity and technique as five of their batsmen scored fifty-plus runs, with Dinesh Chandimal leading the way with a stunning double century. At the end of Day 3, Sri Lanka held a lead of 67 runs. Australia was predicted to come hard and swiftly take the wickets, but Dinesh Chandimal showed resiliency by scoring a double century, keeping the lead at 190.
Australia should have performed much better in this match, but the Lankan bowlers were simply too excellent for them. Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith both got hundreds as Australia amassed 364 runs in the opening session. In return, Srilanka totally overpowered Australia’s bowling department to gain a lead of 190 runs.
The left-arm spinner Jayasuriya then claimed six wickets to assist in the last session of day four’s play as the hosts levelled the series at 1-1 by dismissing Australia for 151.
Before tea, off-spinner Ramesh Mendis bowled out David Warner for 24 runs, and in the last session, left-arm spinner Jayasuriya quickly took control, returning Usman Khawaja (29) and Steve Smith (0) in a single over to frighten the opposition batting.
The losing captain Pat Cummins talked about opponent’s performance as he said, “Probably got ourselves into a position where 400-plus in the first innings was achievable. Had chances in the last couple of days, didn’t grab them. These are the tours when you learn heaps. Think we can go home pretty pleased. Huge thank you for the love and the kind of hosts you’ve been to our team. We’ve had a great five weeks here. Can’t wait to get back.”
The winning captain, Karunaratne looked over the moon as he talked about the victory, he said, “In first match, we couldn’t do much. We were focussing on getting a big one, all batters put their hands up and got a big total in the first innings. Knew it’s going to be a good wicket for a couple of days. Chandimal got 200, others supported well. First one spun a lot, that’s why we had to do something else. Here we had to play normal cricket. Could’ve been 2-0, but boys bounced back hard. Debutants did amazing job. Prabath – knew from the beginning he will be key. It’s a confidence boost for the Pakistan series. Just want to play the basics and our heart out.”
Player Of The Match– Prabath Jayasuriya
Player Of The Series– Dinesh Chandimal
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