Australia continued their winning run in the longest format of the game as they defeated Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Galle, to win the two-match Test series by 2-0. For the Aussies, spin duo of Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon shone in the second innings, taking four wickets each as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 231 runs, giving them a target of 75 runs to win. In reply, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne took the visitors past the finishing line to complete a series sweep.
Talking about the match, batting first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 257 runs with Kusal Mendis top scoring with an unbeaten 85(139) runs. For Australia, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Kuhnemann and Mitchell Starc scalped three wickets each. In reply, Australia ended up posting 414 runs in the first innings, with skipper Steve Smith scoring 131(254) runs along with the 156-run knock for Alex Carey. Prabath Jayasuriya also took a five-wicket haul for Sri Lanka, but Australia were 157 runs ahead in the first innings.
Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann shine as Australia register Test series win
Coming to bat in the second innings, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 231 runs in the second innings. The hosts had a poor start in the second innings as they lost three wickets for 39 runs. After that, Angelo Matthews took charge of the innings and top scored with a knock of 76(149) runs. Apart from that, Kusal Mendis also contributed with a knock of 50(54) runs.
For Australia, Matthew Kuhnemann registered figures of 4/63, while Nathan Lyon took same number of wickets while conceding 84 runs. Apart from that, Beau Webster also took two scalps as Australia needed 75 runs to win the game. After that, Usman Khawaja (27* off 44) and Marnus Labuschagne (26* off 39) as Australia chased the target in 17.4 overs on day four.
