New Delhi: In a fascinating and unbelievable game of cricket on Friday, Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first test match as David Warner sealed the deal with a six. The match was played at the Galle International Stadium, in Galle. Australia required just 3 days to finish off-the match as Pat Cummins-led side left carnage in its way as Sri Lanka couldn’t stand a chance in-spite of winning the toss and choosing to bat first.
Australia were 313-8 at the stumps of Day 2 and it looked like match Sri Lanka will have a massive work to do to cover the deficit. Sri Lanka bowled out Australia in the morning session, but what happened later was astonishing as not only Sri Lanka managed to bowl Australia out in the morning session, they themselves got bowled out, and Australia came for their second innings and chased the target, all in one session.
Sri Lankan batting order fell like a pile of cards and they crumbled under the pressure put up by the Aussie spinners as Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson, and Travis Head managed to get all 10 wickets inside 22.3 overs. Lyon and Head got 4-each, and Swepson scalped 2 wickets as Sri Lanka players had a torrid time on a difficult pitch where spinners were getting absurd amount of turn.
Sri Lanka’s innings ended on 113 after merely 22.3 overs as Australia had to chase just 5 runs, which David Warner did it in style, by hitting Ramesh Mendis for a reverse-hit over backward point on his third ball, and then hitting a six by dancing down the pitch and lofting it over the long-on boundary, on the very next ball.
Cameron Green was awarded the Man of the Match award for his hard-fought 77 in the first innings as Australia go 1-0 up in the series and solidifying their position at the top of ICC Test Championship Standings by some margin.