Australia’s two-Test series of Sri Lanka loomed as a potential upset in the making.
Regular skipper Pat Cummins was out due to a bung ankle and parental leave, his deputy Steve Smith was bothered by an elbow injury and key spinner Matt Kuhnemann suffered a broken thumb which delayed his departure for the tour.
Australia drew their previous two-match series at their fellow island nation three years ago and had been whitewashed 3-0 six years earlier.
But the Aussies were clinical from start to finish to score their first series win in Sri Lanka since 2011, wrapping up back-to-back victories with another precision performance on day four of the second Test.
They quickly collected the two wickets required to finish off Sri Lanka’s second-innings batting resistance before reeling in the victory target of 75 in less than 18 overs.
As they soldier on towards world domination, they have enhanced their prospects for the future by handing out two more baggy green caps to Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly while also getting more reps in for Kuhnemann, Beau Webster and Todd Murphy as they prepare for a rapid period of transition in the next couple of years.
And when it comes to the main missions on the horizon – the World Test Championship final defence against South Africa in June, the home Ashes next summer and their next trip to India in 2027 to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – the Aussies have made major leaps forward.
Already holding every bilateral Test trophy, if they can maintain that record while defending their WTC crown, winning in India and then England in 2027 then they will be elevated to a similar stratosphere to some of the all-time great Australian teams like the 1948 Invincibles and the record-breaking win machines helmed by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting a generation ago.
They could have used this series to fast-track Sam Konstas’ development as a Test player but their decision to promote Travis Head to opener and stick with Usman Khawaja paid dividends.
A logjam for positions in the batting order awaits in the lead-up to the trophy game against the Proteas with Cameron Green due back from his stress fractures and Head’s reversion to the middle order creating a potential return for Konstas at opener.
Inglis and Webster are also in the selection mix while Marnus Labuschagne’s position is under threat after only one century in his past 51 Test innings – he made just four in the first dig of the second Test and managed to survive a few close calls to finish unbeaten on 26 when he hit the winning runs on Sunday in Galle.
Khawaja, after notching the first double-century of his career in the opening Test, fittingly was at the crease on 27 not out when the Aussies earned themselves an day-four early mark inside the first session.
Head scored a typically aggressive 20 before he snicked the 23rd ball he faced to give Prabath Jayasuriya his sixth wicket of the match.
The Aussies needed just six overs to polish off the last two Sri Lankan wickets at the start of day four with Nathan Lyon claiming Kusal Mendis in the opening over after the keeper had advanced to his half-century.
Mendis got tied in knots as an off-break leapt off the crumbling pitch to present Smith with his 200th and possibly easiest catch of his career, becoming just the fifth player of all time to reach the milestone.
Webster (2-6) bowled Lahira Kumara with his first ball and his off-spinners were probably under-utilised by Smith as he primarily rolled with Kuhnemann, Lyon and Head to exploit the turning surface.
The 31-year-old Tasmanian has shown excellent versatility and has not been overawed at all in his three Tests since getting a debut in the Indian series decider in Sydney.
Green is likely to only be available as a specialist batter for the WTC final so Webster’s chances of retaining his spot as the designated all-rounder appear strong.
For Smith, the series win capped off a superb summer in which he scored four tons, passed the 10,000-run milestone and has now reached 200 catches for good measure.
His tactical nous was exceptional, constantly mixing up his field placements and bowling changes to comprehensively outplay his opposing skipper, Dhananjaya de Silva, who had a nightmare with the bat and his decision making.
Kuhnemann leapfrogged Murphy to be Lyon’s heir apparent as first-choice spinner with the left-armer topping the series wicket tally with 16 at just 17.18.
Lyon was close behind with 14 at 22.5 while Mitchell Starc’s effort in taking six wickets at 14.33 is significant given the fact that Sri Lanka did not dismiss any Australian batter with the two seamers they interchanged in each Test.
Kuhnemann has booked his ticket to the Caribbean for the three-Test tour after the WTC final where he may get another opportunity but, given Australia’s propensity to only play one spinner, he may not get another chance until their next trip to the subcontinent at the start of 2027 when they attempt to win in India for the first time in more than two decades.
Paul Suttorhttps://https://ift.tt/NfyxWhi accomplished as clinical Aussies march on to goal of world domination with Sri Lanka demolition
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