SL vs AUS: Australia Ink History; Record First Test Series Win In Sri Lanka In 14 Years

Australia won the second Test against Sri Lanka on Saturday and ensured a clean sweep over the Lankan side.

Galle: Australia continued their dominance in the second Test of the series against Sri Lanka and beat Sri Lanka by nine wickets in the final fixture of the series. With the victory, Australia recorded their first Test series win in Sri Lanka in 14 years. Also, it was the first time since 2006 when they registered a clean sweep in a Test series in Asia. Australia’s last clean sweep in a Test series in Asia was against Bangladesh in a two-match series 19 years ago.

Last, Australia won a Test series in Sri Lanka in 2011 when they beat the hosts by 1-0 in a three-match series. They lost four of the next five matches across the 2016 and 2022 tours. They conceded a 3-0 whitewash under the captaincy of Steve Smith in 2016 while the 2022 series ended in a 1-1 draw.

Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first in the fixture. Despite Dinesh Chandimal (74) and Kusal Mendis (85 Not Out) scoring fifties, Sri Lanka managed to post only a total of 257. Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon picked three wickets each. Australia in response set the tone for their victory with a total of 414 riding on centuries from Steven Smith (131) and Alex Carey (156). Australia took the lead of 157 runs in the first innings.

Sri Lankan batters were unable to produce an impressive total in the second innings as well and their innings wrapped up on 231. Kuhnemann and Lyon picked four wickets each. Australia chased down the target of 75 with ease while losing one wicket.