Who Said What as Sri Lanka defeat Australia by 229 runs to claim Test series
After having won only one Test match against Australia before, the Sri Lankans have overturned the whole weight of that history on this current tour, romping to two consecutive wins – the scraps of the Galle Test being cleaned up halfway through the allotted time, within three days. The 229-run victory was a rare humiliation for the visiting Aussies – the last time that none of their batsmen could register a single 50 in a Test was back in 1997.
Sri Lanka fans had turned up in numbers to witness the No.7 ranked side comprehensively outplay the No.1 side, and the final nail was driven in after lunch, Dilruwan Perera becoming the first Sri Lankan cricketer to achieve the double of taking 10 wickets and scoring a 50 in the same match.
To mark the occasion, Angelo Mathews and his boys ran a victory lap around the ground, something raucously appreciated by the crowd which have been starved of similar glorious occasions.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews: "Not too many teams do this to the number one team. Outstanding performance from us in the first and second Test. I was under a bit of pressure to win the toss and did that after which the players put in a brilliant effort, we backed Perera after a quiet Test match in the first game and he came back very strongly. Credit to the selectors for that move. When we play in these extreme conditions, we need to sweep and reverse sweep and it depends on the individual as to how they look to score runs. They (Aussies) bowled good lines and credit to Mitchell Starc as well who did really well to bowl on these dead tracks. I can do better with my personal form but winning the match means a lot."
Australia captain Steve Smith: "Right from Day 1 nothing quite went right for us. To lose another toss wasn't ideal. Thought the lead conceded in the first innings was a little too many. I thought 200 in both the innings was par. Our score of 106 was certainly under par and we lost the game out there. The Sri Lankan bowlers bowled with that side seam, some spun and some came in straight, it is very tough for us to come to these alien conditions from Australia and score runs. We have to find a way to play against them in foreign conditions. We've learnt a little bit from how we played in the second innings, few sweeps, reverse sweeps and the guys using their feet. Our record shows why it is very challenging for us to play in the sub-continent, we've probably won one game in around 15 or 16 matches that we played in. Have to get it right in the next match."
Man of the Match Dilruwan Perera: "Not all that good a performance in Pallekele, but I had the confidence and am very happy to turn it around in Galle. I am very happy with my bowling, needed some runs for the team and am happy to have got them."