A recap of the thrilling Sri Lanka-Australia test series

2nd Test at Galle: Sri Lanka won by 229 runs

Australia struggled against spin again at Galle

As far as the Australians were concerned, they just had to forget Kandy and take some confidence from the fact that a majority of Sri Lanka’s batsmen had looked far from comfortable in the first Test.

So it was a big blow to the Aussies when O’Keefe was injured and out of the series. His place went to Jon Holland, who got into the team having taken 8 wickets in the Sheffield Shield final. Holland, who had to get his passport renewed before he could fly from Australia, was the only change in the side.

In Sri Lanka’s side, Pradeep felt he was missing all the fun in the treatment room and decided it was time to join his bowling mates on the sidelines. His place went to Vishwa Fernando.

The most unsurprising fact of the second Test - Herath was in the wickets again, with 6 this time. But this Test belonged to Dilruwan Perera. Much as the 1981 Edgbaston Test is called ‘Botham’s Test’, this was ‘Dilruwan’s Test’ (calling it Perera’s Test would make it confusing – there are lots of Pereras in Sri Lankan cricket, 2 in this match itself!) as he took 10 wickets in the match with an excellent 62.

Vishwa Fernando, meanwhile, bowled 12 balls in the whole match in a strange debut. Sandakan, so impressive in the previous Test, found himself bowling only 38 balls as the two senior spinners bowled for most of the match!

If Australia were bad in the first match, they were miserable in the second! Warner got a couple of 40s, but the rest of the batsmen struggled. The only bright spot was Mitchell Starc, who took 11 wickets in spin-friendly conditions and showed with his reverse swing and pace that he is one of the best bowlers in the world at the moment.

Holland seemed nervous on his debut, and Lyon was poor, showing his frustration by sledging the matchwinner Dilruwan Perera. Not a wise thing to do when you aren’t performing and the guy you are sledging is!

3rd Test at SSC, Colombo: Sri Lanka won by 163 runs

Suranga Lakmal was fit again, and the under bowled debutant Vishwa Fernando had to make way for him. This meant that Sri Lanka had changed their solitary fast bowler in each of the 3 matches in the series and the rest of the team was unchanged – an unusual occurrence! Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva were under pressure, having both scored 4 consecutive single-digit scores.

Steven Smith and Darren Lehmann decided on a new approach -- play batsmen who are good against spin, regardless of previous form. So the 2 players that were considered the least comfortable against spin – the hapless Burns and Khawaja – went out, and were replaced by Shaun Marsh and Moises Henriques. Henriques was a slightly unexpected selection with all his 3 Tests having come on the India tour 3 years ago.

As in the first Test, Australia started brilliantly, reducing Sri Lanka to 26/5 in the first innings. Starc, again, was the destroyer-in-chief. But an incredible 211 partnership under pressure between Dhananjaya de Silva and Chandimal saved Sri Lanka’s blushes. Chandimal batted with uncharacteristic patience for his 132.

Dhananjaya, who had made stylish cameos in the first 2 Tests, dug in and importantly, showed little sign of nerves, adding a 2nd innings 65* to his first innings 129. Batting at Number 7 now and blessed with great technique, he is sure to move up the order sometime in the future.

Australia’s 1st innings was equally impressive, the belated inclusion of Shaun Marsh paying rich dividends. Marsh scored 130 and looked calm against the spinners. Steve Smith finally made the hundred which you expect from him every Test. Mitchell Marsh made it a good innings for the Marshes with a 50 of his own. Herath, injured while batting, still managed to pick up 6 wickets in the first innings, as Australia lost their last 5 wickets for 26 runs.

In Sri Lanka’s second innings, Kaushal Silva finally came good, scoring a gritty 115 on a 4th-day pitch which was becoming increasingly difficult to bat on. This was all the more impressive given that he had stitches in his left hand, after an injury while fielding in Australia’s first innings.

Chasing 324 in the 4th innings was always going to be difficult for Australia but Shaun Marsh and Warner started off well. Once the first wicket went down though, the rest followed in a hurry. Herath ended up with another 7 wickets (and 28 in the series) - his 26th 5-for in Tests, more than the likes of Wasim Akram and Steyn!