Alas, that was the last position of strength that the tourists held as the wheels came off their run-chase sooner than anybody would’ve imagined.
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Australia will have a minimum of 83 overs to reel in the target. “Just managed to get the bails off in time”.
The visitors claimed three top-order wickets in Tuesday’s morning session, leaving Sri Lanka in a precarious position at 109-4 at lunch.
Australian wicketkeeper Peter Nevill is confident Australia can still win the test, providing they take the two remaining wickets quickly.
“He played at it a little bit, okay he’s missed the ball, he played back”.
“Looks good for me, having a break and having some time with the family, I think I have retired at the right time from one day and T20”, he commented.
“It was tough initially, because I had a split webbing also”, he said.
Celebrations across Sri LankaSri Lanka’s achievement drew praise from Maithripala Sirisena, the country’s president, as well as former cricket legends Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumar Sangakkara. He then added that despite being well prepared, they were found wanting. “Our plans haven’t worked as individuals or as a collective group, we haven’t been able to put Sri Lanka under as much pressure as we would have liked”.
Sri Lanka won the first two games – at Pallekele by 106 runs and at Galle by 229 runs.
Australia have not named a replacement in their 15-man squad, which was bolstered during the Tests by the addition of Travis Head.
So Cricket Aus, how’s Moises Henriques working out for you??
Skipper Angelo Mathews was equally elated.
“They swept well, they used their feet well, so a lot of credit should go to their batsmen”. “One leg was enough for him to have a bowl on this type of wicket”.
He turned Lyon for a single to square leg to complete his hundred off 281 balls, celebrating with a loud yell as he leapt in the air.
Herath, who has played 73 Tests and taken 332 wickets, was the leading wicket-taker in the three-match series against Australia with 28 wickets at a phenomenal average of 12.75. After all, they were just hammered by a team ranked 7th in the world and in the process, had suffered their 9th loss on the trot in Asia.
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“It’s pretty evenly balanced at the moment”, Shaun Marsh said.
