The Galle annihilation
Australia humiliated Sri Lanka, crushing them by an innings and 242-run in the first Test at Galle—their biggest defeat surpassing the previous against India (by an innings and 239 runs in 2017 in Nagpur) —exposing the hosts’ pathetic strategy and leaving them scrambling for answers. This was not just a loss—it was a brutal reality check.
The hosts may have expected to steamroll their opponents on a spinning track, but instead, they were bulldozed by a far superior and meticulously prepared side.
From the moment the toss was called, Australia took complete command, piling up a monstrous 654 for 6 declared on the back of sheer batting dominance. Usman Khawaja (232), Steven Smith (141), and Josh Inglis (102) toyed with Sri Lanka’s so-called ‘spin fortress’, showing no mercy even on a pitch where Prabath Jayasuriya—nicknamed ‘Galle-dozer’—was supposed to be a threat. Instead, he was treated harshly as the Aussies dictated terms.
If Sri Lanka thought it couldn’t get any worse, they were in for a rude awakening. Their first innings was a disaster of epic proportions, folding for a pathetic 165 runs, trailing by a massive 489. Dinesh Chandimal showed some resistance with a half-century, but the rest of the lineup crumbled like a house of cards against the ruthlessness of Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, and Mitchell Starc. Kuhnemann, playing just his fourth Test, made a mockery of Sri Lanka’s much-hyped spin expertise, bagging nine-wickets in the match and delivering a masterclass in spin bowling—something the home side was supposed to be good at.
The humiliation didn’t end there. With just 10 overs needed to mop up Sri Lanka’s first innings on the fourth morning, the second innings proved to be an equally disgraceful collapse. The top order folded like amateurs, offering no resistance. Oshada Fernando, replacing the injured Pathum Nissanka, was trapped in front by Starc, while Dimuth Karunaratne—playing his 99th Test—suffered an embarrassing dismissal, completely misjudging a Todd Murphy delivery that crashed into his stumps. Leaving a ball that pitches outside off and watching it clatter into off-stump? That’s the kind of schoolboy error that sums up Sri Lanka’s abysmal batting approach.
By lunch on day four, Sri Lanka was still a staggering 414 runs behind with their top-order batters—including Chandimal—already back in the pavilion. Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Kusal Mendis showed fleeting resistance, but the writing was already on the wall.
Towards the end, before Australia wrapped it up, Jeffrey Vandersay provided some entertainment, hitting a 47-ball 53–only the second fifty plus score in the match for the home team to delay the inevitable. The Australian spinners feasted yet again, bowling Sri Lanka out with more than three sessions to spare, forcing them to swallow a bitter dose of reality.
Sri Lanka, once dominant in Galle, was brutally outclassed in their own backyard. Jayasuriya and Nishan Peiris, who ran riot against New Zealand at this venue few months back, looked utterly clueless against Australia’s disciplined and well-executed batting plans.
With the next Test looming on Thursday, Sri Lanka has no choice but to go back to the drawing board. The spin-heavy strategy, which both teams employed, worked wonders for Australia but proved to be Sri Lanka’s undoing.
The difference? Australia had a plan and executed it to perfection, while Sri Lanka floundered without direction. If they don’t fix their approach immediately, they are staring at another humiliating defeat.
| SCORECARD | |
| Australia 1st innings 654 for 6 decl (154)(Usman Khawaja 232, Steven Smith 141, Josh Inglis 102, Travis Head 57, Alex Carey 46n.o., Beau Webster 23, Marnus Labuschagne 20; Jeffrey Vandersay 3/182, Prabath Jayasuriya 2/193)Sri Lanka 1st innings (136-5 overnight) Oshada Fernando lbw b Kuhnemann 07 Dimuth Karunaratne c McSweeney b Starc 07 Dinesh CHandimal lbw b Lyon 72 Angelo Mathews c Head b Lyon 07 Kamindu Mendis c Carey b Starc 15 Dhananjaya de Silva st Carey b Kuhnemann 22 Kusal Mendis c Murphy b Kuhnemann 21 Prabath Jayasuriya st Carey b Kuhnemann 00 Jeffrey Vandersay c Starc b Kuhnemann 04 Nishan Peiris c Inglis b Lyon 05 Asitha Fernando not out 00 Extras (lb4, nb1) 05 Total (all out; 52.2 overs) 165 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (O. Fernando, 1.6ov), 2-15 (Karunaratne, 4.2ov), 3-30 (Mathews, 9.3ov), 4-67 (Kamindu M, 20.3ov), 5-107 (de Silva, 32.3ov), 6-156 (Kusal M, 48.1ov), 7-156 (Chandimal, 49.2ov), 8-156 (Jayasuriya, 50.1ov), 9-161 (Peiris, 51.5ov), 10-165 (Vandersay, 52.2ov) Bowling: Mitchell Starc 8-1-13-2, Matthew Kuhnemann 18.2-3-63-5, Nathan Lyon 20-3-57-3, Todd Murphy 6-1-28-0 Sri Lanka 2nd innings (follow on) Oshada Fernando lbw b Starc 06 Dimuth Karunaratne b Murphy 00 Dinesh Chandimal c Head b Lyon 31 Angelo Mathews c Head b Lyon 41 Kamindu Mendis c Starc b Kuhnemann 32 Dhananjaya de Silva c Webster b Kuhnemann 39 Kusal Mendis st Carey b Lyon 34 Prabath Jayasuriya b Lyon 01 Jeffrey Vandersay c Starc b Kuhnemann 53 Nishan Peiris b Kuhnemann 00 Asitha Fernando not out 06 Extras (lb4) 04 Total (all out; 54.3 overs) 247 Fall of wickets: 1-6 (O. Fernando, 2.1ov), 2-6 (Karunaratne, 3.1ov), 3-75 (Chandimal, 17.2ov), 4-114 (Kamindu M, 24.3ov), 5-114 (Mathews, 25.1ov), 6-179 (de Silva, 39.5ov), 7-187 (Kusal M, 40.6ov), 8-192 (Jayasuriya, 42.1ov), 9-209 (Peiris, 47.1ov), 10-247 (Vandersay, 54.3ov) Bowling: Mitchell Starc 5-1-14-1, Todd Murphy 11-0-57-1, Matthew Kuhnemann 17.3-2-86-4, Nathan Lyon 19-4-78-4, Travis Head 2-0-8-0 |