Key events
James Wallace
Righto, that’s it from us today. Thanks to Rob for manning the early stint and to you for following along with us. We’ll be back for the second Test in Galle next week. Goodbye!
The Captain’s Speak:
Dhananjaya de Silva:
(On the importance of the toss?) It’s very important. Chasing 600 runs is not easy. The wicket was not that hard but the ball was turning. But the batters have to put their hands up and put the opposition under pressure. Losing hurts always. We had our chances, reviews and catches dropped. We made chances but didn’t take them. We have to put our bodies on the line and play well. They are champion side, they are in the WTC final for a reason, so we have to up our game for the next Test.”
Steve Smith:
I thought we started the Test beautifully, Usman and Travis up top really set the tone. Usman’s innings was outstanding, to get his first double hundred, the way he went about it and the shots he played. The pressure he put on the bowlers was outstanding, and throughout that innings we had plenty of good partnerships. Getting 650 allowed us to bowl twice.
I thought Starcy did a tremendous job with the new ball and the spinners did a great job as well. I thought the bowlers bowled really well in tandem, the beauty of having three frontline spinners is you can just rotate and keep guys as fresh as possible.
(On scoring 10k Test runs) I never thought I’d score this many runs. Playing just one Test for Australia was a dream growing up. To have played over a 100 now and scored 10,000 runs… it’s a dream come true. And it was nice to contribute in this game as well with a hundred.”
Usman Khawaja is Player of the Match.
It’s a batters game eh? Kidding. His innings did set up the game and gave the spinners plenty of runs to play with. He spoke really well after the game.
It’s just nice to score some runs and contribute to a winning team. Galle’s always a tough place to play for us, so it’s nice to get a good start. To be honest, a month ago I was on the top of the world too, we won (against India) 3-1. Cricket is a team game and you want to score all the time, but it’s not always possible. So hopefully when you don’t score someone else does, and when someone else doesn’t, you score. That’s the point.
That 3-1 against was tough work, we were all very tired. But to come here and start the series off well, we’re very happy. I’m 38 now and this is my fifth trip to Sri Lanka. I’ve made all the mistakes I know I can make! I know there are certain ways I’m happy to get out and certain ways I’m not. I just work around that, that’s the most important thing.”
An all round impressive performance by Australia, they were ruthless with the bat and made huge runs in their first and only innings. Usman Khawaja showed that their is plenty of life in his Test career despite his rather downbeat pre-Test proclamations. Steve Smith looked somewhere near his best with the bat and moved back into the captaincy role with aplomb and Josh Inglis scored a memorable maiden Test century in front of his proud parents. Has it been mentioned that he spent his formative years in Leeds? Thought not.
The Ausssie bowlers also did the business, Matt Kuhnemann taking 9-149 in his return to the side, Nathan Lyon 7-165 and Mitch Starc chipping in with 3-27.
Sri Lanka will have to lick their wounds and come again in the second Test next week. It was a bruising defeat for them, the heaviest in their Test history and only the second time they’ve been beaten by an innings in Galle, usually such a stronghold for them.
Meanwhile… Australia’s women have whitewashed England in the Ashes
Australia win by innings and 242 runs
There it is! Jeffrey Vandersay goes to a plucky maiden Test fifty with a drive for four and a smear down the ground for SIX but he then attempts a wild heave and the spliced catch is taken at point! Matt Kuhnemann finishes with nine wickets in the match and it’s a thumping win for Australia.
54th over: Sri Lanka 237-9 (Vandersay 43, Fernando 6) Murphy can’t get the final wicket, over to Kuhnemann…
53rd over: Sri Lanka 236-9 (Vandersay 42, Fernando 6) Sri Lanka rack up an all run four as Vandersay clubs a Lyon full toss through a very vacant mid on. Starc just got the one over, Todd Murphy is coming back to see if he can close this Test out.
52nd over: Sri Lanka 231-9 (Vandersay 37, Fernando 6) Mitchell Starc is called upon to deliver the coup de grace but he can’t get the Aussies over the line in his first over, Vandersay clips for two and then gets the single off the final ball to keep strike for the next over.
51st over: Sri Lanka 228-9 (Vandersay 34, Fernando 6) Lyon to Fernando. Anything you can do Jeffrey… the number 11 clears his front leg and smears away over wide long on for SIX.
50th over: Sri Lanka 222-9 (Vandersay 34, Fernando 0) Vandersay attacks once more and launches Kuhnemann down the ground for SIX. He’s got his eyes on a fifty here.
49th over: Sri Lanka 214-9 (Vandersay 26, Fernando 0) Vandersay slog sweeps Lyon for a boundary and Australia’s wait for victory goes on.
48th over: Sri Lanka 209-9 (Vandersay 21, Fernando 0) Asitha Fernando is the last man. He has about seven Aussie fielders up in his grille as he takes guard. He pays them nevermind and survives the over.
WICKET! Peiris b Kuhnemann 0 (Sri Lanka 209-9)
Bowled him! Kuhnemann gets one to skid on and Peiris’s timbers are rearranged. Australia one more away from the sealing the win in Galle.
47th over: Sri Lanka 209-8 (Vandersay 21, Peiris 0) The Aussie fielders swarm the batters, they’ve deployed the ‘aggressive fielding’ option on Brian Lara Cricket ‘99. IYKYK. Vandersay takes advantage of the acres of space in the field and picks up two boundaries with reverse-sweeps. I like the cut of his jib.
46th over: Sri Lanka 201-8 (Vandersay 13, Peiris 0) The Aussies burn a review for an lbw appeal as Vandersay got a huge inside edge onto pad.
45th over: Sri Lanka 200-8 (Vandersay 12, Peiris 0) Peiris somehow survives six consecutive balls from Nathan Lyon.
44th over: Sri Lanka 200-8 (Vandersay 12, Peiris 0) Vandersay is here to have some fun, he sweeps for four and then punches Matthew Kuhnemann through point for his second boundary of the over. That brings up Sri Lanka’s 200 hundred. Marginal gains.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 192-8 (Vandersay 4, Peiris 0) Lyon fluffs his lines with the hat-trick delivery, dropping too short and new batter Peiris defends on the back foot with relative ease. It’s still a wicket maiden and Australia fancy polishing this off before tea.
WICKET! Jayasuriya b Lyon 1 (Sri Lanka 192-8)
Lyon has two in two! A wicket with the last ball of his previous over and he spins one past Jayasuriya’s defences and the stumps are splayed! Hat-trick time…
42nd over: Sri Lanka 192-7 (Jayasuriya 2, Vandersay 4) Jeffrey Dexter Francis Vandersay is the new batter. Kuhnemann drops short and the aforementioned rocks back and punches for four.
41st over: Sri Lanka 187-7 (Jayasuriya 0, Vandersay 0) Australia go for the kill now, men all around the bat and plenty of chatter.
WICKET! Mendis st Carey b Lyon 34 (Sri Lanka 187-7)
Mendis is gone now too! Lyon is hit for two boundaries but keeps giving it some air, Mendis wanders out of his crease to work to leg and the ball turns just enough to leave him stranded and Alex Carey does the honours with the bails.
40th over: Sri Lanka 179-6 (Kusal 25, Jayasuriya 0) Prabath Jayasuriya is in with the bat for the second time today, it’s not been a great one for the home side, they’ll need to dust themselves off quickly before going again in the second Test in just a few days time.
WICKET! Dhananjaya de Silva c Webster b Kuhnemann 41 (Sri Lanka 179-6)
Kuhnemann gets another! Dhananjaya clubs him down the ground for a handsome SIX but then attempts the same shot next ball and splays it to Webster at short cover. Australia have prised their way into the tail.
39th over: Sri Lanka 174-5 (Dhananjaya 35, Kusal 25) Lyon whirls into action. Six balls on the money but stoutly defended. These two have stopped the rot and are frustrating Australia… and those of us who fancied a short and sweet shift. KIDDING.
38th over: Sri Lanka 174-5 (Dhananjaya 35, Kusal 25) Dhananjaya paddles Murphy away fine for four and then drives away through the covers for another boundary. Steve Smith calls for Nathan Lyon to try and get the breakthrough.
37th over: Sri Lanka 165-5 (Dhananjaya 26, Kusal 25) Head drops short and is flayed away through point by Kusal, that shot brings up the fifty partnership between this pair.
36th over: Sri Lanka 161-5 (Dhananjaya 26, Kusal 21) Murphy hops and skips in and bowls with a fast arm, flannel tucked into the back of his trews. He goes a smidge too full and Dhananjaya drives away through cover for four.
35th over: Sri Lanka 155-5 (Dhananjaya 21, Kusal 20) Travis Head replaces Matt Kuhnemann – who I actually thought looked like he could take a wicket every ball before drinks. Kusal sweeps for two and each batter nudges a single. Sri Lanka very much playing for pride, they are still 334 runs adrift of Australia’s first innings.
James Wallace
34th over: Sri Lanka 151-5 (Dhananjaya 20, Kusal 17) Thanks Rob, hello all. Wickets galore today, are Australia going to finish this off quickly or will we see some grit and skill from Dhananjaya and Kusal? The ball is spitting less sharply off the surface now it has lost some of its lacquer but it is by no means easy out there.
33rd over: Sri Lanka 150-5 (Dhananjaya 20, Kusal 16) Right, that’s all from me; Jim Wallace will talk through the denouement/an unlikely sixth-wicket partnership of 700.
REVIEW! Sri Lanka 145-5 (Kusal not out 15)
Kusal Mendis reviews successfully after being given out LBW to Kuhnemann. He missed a sweep and was hit in front, but the third umpire Joel Wilson decided there was a thin under-edge onto the pad. I don’t think the evidence was conclusive, and therefore the on-field decision should have stood, but I doubt it will make much difference to the outcome.
There were two identical murmurs on UltraEdge, the second as the ball passed the bat. But the first occurred when it was nowhere near the bat, so I don’t think you can conclusively say there was a bottom edge. Equally, had it been given not out on the field I don’t think it should have been overturned.
32nd over: Sri Lanka 145-5 (Dhananjaya 16, Kusal 15) Todd Murphy replaces Nathan Lyon. Kusal shapes to pull a delivery, only for it to turn grotesquely and follow him outside leg stump; all he can do is force it back to the bowler.
Kusal has a bit of fortune later in the over when an uppish pull shot flies wide of short midwicket. That could easily have gone to hand. Instead Kusal gets a single and Dhananjaya plays a deft late cut for four.
31st over: Sri Lanka 138-5 (Dhananjaya 11, Kusal 13) Kusal skids back to pull Kuhnemann for four. The over ends with another unplayable delivery to Dhananjaya that pitches on middle and growls past the outside edge. Good luck playing that.
30th over: Sri Lanka 133-5 (Dhananjaya 11, Kusal 8) Dhananjaya pushes Lyon stylishly through extra cover for four. Lyon moves around the wicket and is worked for a couple of singles. Australia know that, with Sri Lanka’s tail, one more wicket should lead to a quick kill.