Records thrash as Kangaroos beat Lions

Australia are 1-0 up in the two-match Test series

Australia absolutely dominated Sri Lanka as they wrapped up the game within three days, leading the two-match Test series 1-0.

The encounter proved to be one of the shortest ones played in the Asian conditions as it was over in just 153.2 overs, just behind an Australia-Pakistan game in 2002 and India-England in 2020-21, which ended in 148.5 and 140.2 overs, respectively.

Spinner Nathan Lyon starred with a match haul of nine wickets. The hosts were bundled out for 113 in their second innings.

The innings turned out to be Sri Lanka’s shortest one in terms of overs faced as they could only survive Australia’s bowling attack for 22.5 overs.

Previously, the Islanders had got out against the same opposition in 2012 in 24.2 overs in a game played in Melbourne and against England in 2011 in Cardiff. It’s a shame that their worst batting performance in terms of overs has come in their backyard.

Lyon, whose five-for helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212 in the first innings, and fellow spinner Travis Head took four wickets each to send the hosts packing before the morning was over.

The spinners ran through the Lankan Lions, who are known to be good players of spin. It was the second-best performance by the Aussie spinners in a Test match, where they took 18 wickets, just behind their best, 19 wickets, in 1934.

The phenomenal performance against the Islanders promoted Lyon to the tenth spot in the list of the highest wicket-takers in Test cricket with 436 scalps in 109 matches.

He is among four active bowlers to be on the list alongside England’s Jame Anderson (653), Stuart Broad (549) and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (439).

The 34-year-old needs six wickets to surpass his Indian counterpart and capture the eighth position on the list.

‘Amazing win’

Australia sealed a 10-wicket victory by chasing the petty target of 10 runs in just four balls of the fourth inning in Galle.

Skipper Pat Cummins is proud of his unit for how they played in the first Test in tricky playing conditions of Sri Lanka.

“Amazing win. Turning up this morning I didn’t think it was going to happen that fast,” Cummins said. “Really proud of the squad. It’s really foreign conditions for us.”

Opener Usman Khawaja (71) and Cameron Green (77) stood out in Australia’s first innings effort of 321 which made them take control in extreme spin conditions.

Green put on crucial partnerships with Khawaja and then wicketkeeper-batsman Alex Carey, who made 45, to handle the spinners with aplomb.

“Players go through their whole careers looking for a method in these conditions, and in his first knock he’s found it,” Cummins said of the 23-year-old Green who was named man of the match.

“Really happy for him, he was the difference.”

Sri Lanka suffered a blow before play began when Angelo Mathews was ruled out due to Covid-19, with Oshada Fernando named his replacement.