Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd Test, Day 4: Australia win second Test and series against Sri Lanka

Australia won the second Test against Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Galle on Sunday to sweep the series 2-0.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd Test, Australia tour of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka 257/10 (97.4 ov) & 231/10 (68.1 ov)

Australia 414/10 (106.4 ov) & 75/1 (17.4 ov)

Result - Australia won by 9 wickets

Match Day Analysis

Set a target of 75 to win, Australia lost only Travis Head as they romped to a commanding victory before lunch on day four.

Steve Smith's men had earlier on Sunday bundled Sri Lanka out for 231, after the hosts had resumed on 211-8 from overnight.

Sri Lanka's resistance lasted just 26 minutes, losing Kusal Mendis for 50 and Lahiru Kumara for nine. 

Spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann took four wickets each for Australia.

The duo spun a web around the hosts, making full use of a dust bowl tailor-made for turn.

Kuhnemann, playing just his fifth Test, upstaged the seasoned Lyon, finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the series with 16.

The left-arm spinner bowled impeccable line and length, a performance even more remarkable given that he had broken his right thumb just two weeks before the first Test.

Sri Lanka's fragile batting meant their fortunes rested heavily on Kusal Mendis, who had already played a fine hand in the first innings with an unbeaten 85 runs.

In the second innings, he carried on the fight, bringing up his half-century with a crisp punch through covers off Lyon.

However, the joy was short-lived.

Off the next ball, Mendis was done in by extra bounce, top-edging an attempted flick straight into the hands of Steve Smith.

The Australian skipper entered an elite club, becoming only the fifth player in Test history to complete 200 catches –- alongside Rahul Dravid, Joe Root, Mahela Jayawardene, and Jacques Kallis.

Australia celebrated a crushing victory in the first Test, with the innings and 242-run humiliation Sri Lanka's worst defeat in Test history.

Match Stats

Sri Lanka 1st Innings Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Pathum Nissanka - 7.4 ov), 2-93 (Dimuth Karunaratne - 32.3 ov), 3-101 (Angelo Mathews - 38.3 ov), 4-126 (Kamindu Mendis - 45.6 ov), 5-127 (Dhananjaya de Silva - 46.2 ov), 6-150 (Dinesh Chandimal - 60.2 ov), 7-215 (Ramesh Mendis - 83.4 ov), 8-215 (Prabath Jayasuriya - 83.5 ov), 9-224 (Nishan Peiris - 86.1 ov)

Australia 1st Innings Fall of wickets: 1-32 (Travis Head - 6.4 ov), 2-37 (Marnus Labuschagne - 7.5 ov), 3-91 (Usman Khawaja - 24.5 ov), 4-350 (Steven Smith - 84.3 ov), 5-350 (Josh Inglis - 84.5 ov), 6-373 (Alex Carey - 92.6 ov), 7-384 (Cooper Connolly - 95.1 ov), 8-406 (Mitchell Starc - 103.5 ov), 9-406 (Beau Webster - 104.3 ov), 10-414 (Matthew Kuhnemann - 106.4 ov)

Sri Lanka 2nd Innings Fall of wickets:  1-9 (Pathum Nissanka - 1.3 ov), 2-33 (Dimuth Karunaratne - 12.1 ov), 3-39 (Dinesh Chandimal - 13.4 ov), 4-81 (Kamindu Mendis - 25.4 ov), 5-128 (Dhananjaya de Silva - 39.5 ov), 6-198 (Angelo Mathews - 57.1 ov), 7-199 (Ramesh Mendis - 58.5 ov), 8-211 (Prabath Jayasuriya - 62.1 ov), 9-209 (Nishan Peiris - 47.1 ov), 10-247 (Jeffrey Vandersay - 54.3 ov)

Australia 2nd Innings Fall of wickets

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka 

• Dimuth Karunaratne
• Oshada Fernando
• Dinesh Chandimal
• Angelo Mathews
• Kamindu Mendis
• Dhananjaya de Silva(C)
• Kusal Mendis(WK)
• Prabath Jayasuriya
• Nishan Peiris
• Jeffrey Vandersay
• Asitha Fernando

Australia  

• Usman Khawaja
• Travis Head
• Marnus Labuschagne
• Steven Smith(C)
• Josh Inglis
• Beau Webster
• Alex Carey(WK)
• Mitchell Starc
• Matthew Kuhnemann
• Nathan Lyon
• Todd Murphy

Match Details

Date: Thursday, February 6, 2025 04:30

Venue: Galle International Stadium, Galle

Toss: Sri Lanka elected to bat

Officials Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (South Africa) Joel Wilson (West Indies) Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand TV)

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand)

© Cricket World 2025