2nd Test: Sri Lanka crushed inside three days

Australia take series with innings-win.

MELBOURNE: Australia humiliated an ailing Sri Lanka by an innings and 201 runs to wrap up the series midway through the third day of the second Test yesterday.

Trailing by 304, a battered Sri Lanka surrendered for 103 for seven off 24.2 overs with Kumar Sangakkara retiring hurt and out for the rest of the tour. Prasanna Jayawardene and Chanaka Welegedara were also unable to bat because of injuries. Australia’s rampaging paceman Mitchell Johnson dominated the Test with six wickets and an unbeaten 92 and was named man of the match.

“The plan through this Test match was to get up their batters,” said Johnson. “Unfortunately for them they got a few injuries out of it. I think that intimidation factor definitely worked out there today.”



Sri Lanka’s remote hopes of saving the series in Melbourne went out the door when key batsman Sangakkara retired on 27 after he was struck on the glove by a menacing lifter from Johnson. Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said Sangakkara would have surgery for a fractured left index finger and would miss the rest of the Test and one-day games in Australia. He was the second Sri Lankan player to suffer a hand injury in the Boxing Day Test with wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene receiving a hairline thumb fracture when also struck by a Johnson delivery in the first-innings.

With paceman Welegedara already ruled out of further involvement in the Melbourne Test with a hamstring injury, the Sri Lankan second-innings ended at seven wickets down to complete a wretched Test for the tourists.

“We were very disappointed with the way we performed,” said Jayawardene. “We need to sit down and discuss about how we go about things for the rest of the series. The injuries are something we can’t control, but we need to show more character, we need to see something more from the players, we need to come up better and all of us have to take some responsibility.”

Earlier, Australia lasted just 5.4 overs into the third day before their first-innings ended at 460. Johnson was stranded eight runs short of his second Test century off 150 balls.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2012.