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Sri Lankan cricket team delivered a dominating performance in the second Test against Australia as the hosts won the game by an innings and 39-runs at the Galle International Stadium in Galle. The bilateral series turned out to be a source of some relief and respite for the island nation, which is in the grip of a huge economic crisis due to an acute shortage of resources.
Following the conclusion of the 2nd Test match, Australian red-ball skipper Pat Cummins spoke about the struggle of people in the island nation which the skipper experienced during his Sri Lanka tour. The red-ball skipper revealed that he and some other Australian players spoke to some of the staff at their hotels and drivers about their struggle during their economic crisis. "They are doing it really tough. They are eating one day, one day off eating to try and feed their kids. Its really tough," Cummins said.
Adding further, Cummins informed that family members of cricketers got really scared during the ongoing protest. "The protest yesterday, you couldn't escape it. We have got a list of messages from back home saying. 'How is it?' Hope you are okay. We are totally fine," Cummins said in a video posted by Cricket Australia.
Despite historic victory in the 2nd Test, brilliant performance from Sri Lankan cricketers was overshadowed by the massive protest in the country amidst reports of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing away from the island nation. Lakhs of protestors flooded the residence of the Sri Lankan president in Colombo as the country continues to battle its worst-ever economic crisis.
As far as the second Test is concerned, on the back of centuries from Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, Australia posted 364 runs on the board in the first innings. However, Sri Lankan batters put on a great show as Dinesh Chandimal struck an unbeaten double ton while the likes of Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis and Angelo Mathews struck half-centuries to take the hosts to a staggering total of 554 runs in their first innings.
While the visitors were up for a challenge in the 2nd innings, the hosts bundled out the Aussies for a paltry 151-runs in the 2nd innings to register a dominant win to level the two-match Test series. Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya picked up six wickets in each of the two innings to finish with a 12-wicket haul in the match.