Dilruwan Perera the star as Sri Lanka seals series win

Dilruwan Perera’s six-wicket haul on the third morning helped Sri Lanka seal a historic 229-run win over Australia in the second Test at the Galle International Stadium on Saturday (August 6). Dilruwan ended with figures of 6 for 70 and a match-haul of 10 for 99, as Australia was bowled out for 183 in its second innings, chasing a big target of 413.

Dilruwan also became the first Sri Lanka cricketer to hit a half-century and bag 10 wickets in the same Test.

The win, coming on the heels of a 106-run win in the second Test, gave Sri Lanka a 2-0 lead in the three-match series and its first series win over Australia in 17 years, with the previous one having come in 1999 – a series in which Rangana Herath made his debut. It also marked Australia’s eighth consecutive loss in a Test in Asia.

Australia resumed the day on a precarious 25 for 3, but David Warner and Steven Smith, the overnight batsmen, offered some resistance early in the day with a 51-run stand for the fourth wicket. However, both soon fell to Dilruwan’s guile, and after the two most experienced batsmen in the line-up had gone, wickets fell regularly. Victory for Sri Lanka was sealed shortly after lunch.

Warner, who tried to counterattack during his 31-ball 41, was trapped in front by a straighter delivery that struck him on the front pad. Smith (30), who used his feet well against the spinners during his 58-ball stay, soon followed, giving a catch to backward short leg.

Dilruwan, who also took two wickets on Friday, then had Adam Voges bowled for 28 to register his fourth five-wicket haul in 11 Tests. Mitchell Starc and Peter Nevill battled to take the visiting side in to lunch at 133 for 7, but it only delayed the inevitable.

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Starc was cleaned up by a slower delivery from Rangana Herath two overs after resumption, and Josh Hazlewood’s leading edge off the pad ended up back with Dilruwan for his sixth wicket. The final wicket – that of Nevill (24) – was down to excellent work in the field by Kusal Mendis at short leg, reacting quickly to induce a run out.

Sri Lanka celebrated animatedly before heading into a group huddle, having sealed a significant win.

The victory was set up by Herath on Friday. The veteran left-arm spinner’s maiden Test hat-trick helped dismiss Australia for a record low of 106 in its first innings, before Dilruwan’s half-century and Angelo Mathews’s fine 47 helped post a target beyond Australia’s reach.

Herath and Dilruwan shared four wickets between them on an action-packed second day, in which a total of 21 wickets fell.

Sri Lanka will now look to continue its winning run in the final Test at Colombo, beginning on August 13.