Sri Lanka declared on 347 for eight to set the tourists a target of 324 but Australia never seriously threatened despite an opening stand of 77 between Shaun Marsh and David Warner as they were bowled out for 160. The left-armer started off with a four-wicket haul in the first innings of the first Test in Pallekele but picked up 5/54 in the second innings as Australia lost by 106 runs.
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Silva stuck around for most of the day thereafter, before he was eventually caught at slip to a vicious turning delivery from Jon Holland, which underlined the assistance in the wicket for the slow bowlers.
Overnight batsman Kaushal Silva scored a gritty half-century on Tuesday to stretch Sri Lanka’s lead to 163 against Australia’s persistent bowlers in a tight third and final Test in Colombo.
Dhananjaya de Silva became the first SL player to score a century and fifty in the same Test batting at No. 7 or lower.
Sri Lanka, with an unassailable 2-0 lead, are looking for their first Test series whitewash against Australia.
Darren Lehmann believes Australia should feel “embarrassed” following their 3-0 series loss to Sri Lanka.
The teams now play five One-Day Internationals with the first of those games on August 21, at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Silva was unbeaten on 32 with skipper Angelo Mathews on four at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
It’s been a remarkable series for the diminutive Sri Lankan left-arm spinner.
“He was fantastic. He was bowling off one leg”, Mathews told reporters as he singled out Herath while assessing the reasons behind Sri Lanka’s first ever clean sweep in a series against a major Test team. He had a groin strain so he could not run or jump and on one leg he was fantastic, one leg was enough for him on these pitches.
“Our spinners have done their best to adapt, but I suppose their batsmen have played spin exceptionally well and made it very hard for a spinner to settle”, he said. “What a fantastic moment, especially after being 26 for 5 to come back this strong, credit to de Silva the way he batted and then Chandimal the way they got us through the second and third sessions on the first day and then Herath, doing his thing”.
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“There’s no secret”, said Herath, who took 28 wickets in the series.
