Sri Lanka thrash Australia to record 3-0 Test whitewash
Sri Lanka have completed a 3-0 series whitewash of Australia with a 163-run victory on the fifth day of the third Test in Colombo.
The comprehensive win was sealed late in the second session on the final day when Nathan Lyon was lbw to Rangana Herath and, with it, Australia lost their number 1 Test ranking.
Angelo Mathews and his team celebrated the historic clean sweep in the middle of the Sinhalese Sports Club ground, the three comfortable victories coming after Sri Lanka had only beaten Australia once in 33 years before this tour.
Set 324 on Wednesday for an unlikely win in 83 overs, Australia slumped in all-too-familiar fashion to be all out for 160.
It was another woeful batting display, the tourists again failing to cope with the home-side's spinners and were skittled in just 44.1 overs.
The wearing pitch took plenty of turn and was difficult to bat on, but it did not justify another collapse of 5-23 in 39 balls not long after lunch when they were motoring along at 1-77.
Herath snared 7-64 to finish as top wicket-taker for the series with 28, a gutsy display from the 38-year-old after retiring hurt on day two when he was hit in the groin by a Josh Hazlewood delivery.
His match figures of 13-145 were also the best by a Sri Lankan in Tests against Australia, bettering Muttiah Muralitharan's 2004 feat of 11-212 in Galle.
The comprehensive win was sealed late in the second session on the final day when Nathan Lyon was lbw to Rangana Herath and, with it, Australia lost their number 1 Test ranking.
Angelo Mathews and his team celebrated the historic clean sweep in the middle of the Sinhalese Sports Club ground, the three comfortable victories coming after Sri Lanka had only beaten Australia once in 33 years before this tour.
Set 324 on Wednesday for an unlikely win in 83 overs, Australia slumped in all-too-familiar fashion to be all out for 160.
It was another woeful batting display, the tourists again failing to cope with the home-side's spinners and were skittled in just 44.1 overs.
The wearing pitch took plenty of turn and was difficult to bat on, but it did not justify another collapse of 5-23 in 39 balls not long after lunch when they were motoring along at 1-77.
Herath snared 7-64 to finish as top wicket-taker for the series with 28, a gutsy display from the 38-year-old after retiring hurt on day two when he was hit in the groin by a Josh Hazlewood delivery.
His match figures of 13-145 were also the best by a Sri Lankan in Tests against Australia, bettering Muttiah Muralitharan's 2004 feat of 11-212 in Galle.
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