Australia had reached Colombo as number team with 118 points, but consecutive defeats of 106 runs in Pallekele, 229 runs in Galle and 163 runs in Colombo, they joined England on 108 points but is ranked above Alastair Cook’s side, while Sri Lanka has jumped to 95 points.
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The Indian team is now one point clear of the second-placed Pakistan with 112 rating points.
Steve Smith’s men once again highlighted their fragility on their travels, as they suffered a 3-0 defeat to a Sri Lanka team in transition – a result that sees them slip to third in the standings.
Australia were on the end of a 3-0 series whitewash in Sri Lanka and head coach Darren Lehmann acknowledged the steep learning curve.
Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath led the attack, snaring six wickets to restrict Australia’s first innings lead.
They declared their second innings at 347 for 8, setting Australia a daunting target on a final-day pitch.
Lyon struck in the first hour of play to get opener Dimuth Karunaratne stumped for 22, as Nevill clipped the bails off when the batsman’s foot was raised for a split-second.
“Well, there’s always people who are going to say something like that, but I don’t think it’s contrary to the spirit of cricket”, he said.
Rangan Herath claimed a 13-wicket match haul to bag the man-of-the-match award.
Australia had a champion left-arm bowler of their own, Mitchell Starc, who took 24 wickets at 15, but as he is quick, he could not bowl as many overs as Herath.
Defiant centuries from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva ensured that the hosts get a decent first innings score of 355.
Kaushal Silva’s (115, 10×4) gritty knock played a big part in Sri Lanka registering their first series sweep against a major side since gaining Test status in 1981.
India have taken over the top spot in the world rankings ahead of the fourth Test against the West Indies Trinidad that starts on Thursday.
Mathews fell to Lyon (4-123) in the second session but Silva added 90 runs with Chandimal (43) for the sixth wicket to consolidate Sri Lanka’s position.
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Australia will need to produce a record-breaking sub-continental run chase for an unlikely victory on the final day of the third Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
