Sri Lanka 3 - Australia 0. Even though every man and his dog know that the current Australian team are awful against spin, not many of the said men (or dogs) would have seen such a comprehensive thrashing coming in the recently concluded Test series!
Let's look back at the 3 Tests before the limited-overs leg of this tour starts.
Pre-Series and the Squads:
Sri Lanka, who were just back from a depressing tour of England (lost 2 Tests comprehensively and drew 1), had doubts surrounding pretty much the entire batting order.
The openers, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva, were inconsistent and with Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva very inexperienced (although all 3 have great potential), the entire batting seemed heavily reliant on the captain Angelo Mathews and vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal.
To make things worse, their bowlers were dropping down injured faster than pins in a bowling alley.
Dushmanta Chameera and Dhammika Prasad were out for the series, as was the young leg-spinner, Jeffrey Vandersay. Suranga Lakmal (later to return for the last Test), and Shaminda Eranga had been banned for an illegal action. Nuwan Pradeep was the only senior pacer left at that point, along with the spinners – Rangana Herath, off-spinner Dilruwan Perera and the uncapped chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan
Sri Lanka were forced to play 3 spinners and 1 pace bowler – Pradeep – in the first Test.
The Australians, on the other hand, seemed to have a much more settled team, with 2 world-class batsmen in Smith and Warner, and the rest of the batsmen in form. Khawaja was piling up centuries, Voges was averaging more than anyone except Bradman, and even reserve batsman Shaun Marsh had been excellent when given the chance. The bowling, too, had a settled look to it, with regulars Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon joined by all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and Stephen O’Keefe.
Above all, the fact that the team had won 6 and drawn 2 of the previous 8 Tests against New Zealand and West Indies meant that they were high on confidence even if many of the batsmen hadn’t played Test Cricket on the subcontinent. Lyon, inexplicably, had a worse record in spin-friendly conditions than in Australia.
So all things considered, there really wasn’t anything to suggest that Sri Lanka would dominate as they did, even if we take into account how rarely teams win Test series away from home these days!
So, how did Australia get a 3-0 thrashing?
1st Test at Pallekele, Kandy: Sri Lanka won by 106 Runs
Dilruwan Perera was disappointing in the first Test at Kandy, causing Mathews to bowl the part-time spin of Dhananjaya de Silva ahead of him at one point. But Herath, reliable as ever, took 9 wickets, and Sandakan, the chinaman bowler with a deceptive googly, caused havoc with his 7 wickets – the Australians had as much idea about which way the ball was turning as Maria Sharapova had about who Sachin Tendulkar was!
But despite Herath and Sandakan’s wickets, the hero of this match was undoubtedly young Kusal Mendis! He had had a few 40s and 50s in his short Test career already, but his 2nd innings 176 was a ‘coming of age’ innings – the first hundred that every international batsman needs. And what a majestic innings!
In a match where most batsmen struggled and the next highest score was 55 by Steven Smith, Mendis's big century at 21 years old was proof of genuine temperament and skill, made all the more impressive by the fact that Sri Lanka trailed by 84 after the 1st innings, having been shot out for 117 in 34.2 overs on the first day.
The Australians actually bowled well throughout the match, O’Keefe seemed a really good selection, and the pacers were impressive. But the batting looked all at sea, with only Voges (in the 1st innings) and Smith (in the 2nd innings) showing any defiance.
2nd Test at Galle: Sri Lanka won by 229 runs
As far as the Australians were concerned, they just had to forget Kandy and take some confidence from the fact that a majority of Sri Lanka’s batsmen had looked far from comfortable in the first Test.
So it was a big blow to the Aussies when O’Keefe was injured and out of the series. His place went to Jon Holland, who got into the team having taken 8 wickets in the Sheffield Shield final. Holland, who had to get his passport renewed before he could fly from Australia, was the only change in the side.
In Sri Lanka’s side, Pradeep felt he was missing all the fun in the treatment room and decided it was time to join his bowling mates on the sidelines. His place went to Vishwa Fernando.
The most unsurprising fact of the second Test - Herath was in the wickets again, with 6 this time. But this Test belonged to Dilruwan Perera. Much as the 1981 Edgbaston Test is called ‘Botham’s Test’, this was ‘Dilruwan’s Test’ (calling it Perera’s Test would make it confusing – there are lots of Pereras in Sri Lankan cricket, 2 in this match itself!) as he took 10 wickets in the match with an excellent 62.
Vishwa Fernando, meanwhile, bowled 12 balls in the whole match in a strange debut. Sandakan, so impressive in the previous Test, found himself bowling only 38 balls as the two senior spinners bowled for most of the match!
If Australia were bad in the first match, they were miserable in the second! Warner got a couple of 40s, but the rest of the batsmen struggled. The only bright spot was Mitchell Starc, who took 11 wickets in spin-friendly conditions and showed with his reverse swing and pace that he is one of the best bowlers in the world at the moment.
Holland seemed nervous on his debut, and Lyon was poor, showing his frustration by sledging the matchwinner Dilruwan Perera. Not a wise thing to do when you aren’t performing and the guy you are sledging is!
3rd Test at SSC, Colombo: Sri Lanka won by 163 runs
Suranga Lakmal was fit again, and the under bowled debutant Vishwa Fernando had to make way for him. This meant that Sri Lanka had changed their solitary fast bowler in each of the 3 matches in the series and the rest of the team was unchanged – an unusual occurrence! Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva were under pressure, having both scored 4 consecutive single-digit scores.
Steven Smith and Darren Lehmann decided on a new approach -- play batsmen who are good against spin, regardless of previous form. So the 2 players that were considered the least comfortable against spin – the hapless Burns and Khawaja – went out, and were replaced by Shaun Marsh and Moises Henriques. Henriques was a slightly unexpected selection with all his 3 Tests having come on the India tour 3 years ago.
As in the first Test, Australia started brilliantly, reducing Sri Lanka to 26/5 in the first innings. Starc, again, was the destroyer-in-chief. But an incredible 211 partnership under pressure between Dhananjaya de Silva and Chandimal saved Sri Lanka’s blushes. Chandimal batted with uncharacteristic patience for his 132.
Dhananjaya, who had made stylish cameos in the first 2 Tests, dug in and importantly, showed little sign of nerves, adding a 2nd innings 65* to his first innings 129. Batting at Number 7 now and blessed with great technique, he is sure to move up the order sometime in the future.
Australia’s 1st innings was equally impressive, the belated inclusion of Shaun Marsh paying rich dividends. Marsh scored 130 and looked calm against the spinners. Steve Smith finally made the hundred which you expect from him every Test. Mitchell Marsh made it a good innings for the Marshes with a 50 of his own. Herath, injured while batting, still managed to pick up 6 wickets in the first innings, as Australia lost their last 5 wickets for 26 runs.
In Sri Lanka’s second innings, Kaushal Silva finally came good, scoring a gritty 115 on a 4th-day pitch which was becoming increasingly difficult to bat on. This was all the more impressive given that he had stitches in his left hand, after an injury while fielding in Australia’s first innings.
Chasing 324 in the 4th innings was always going to be difficult for Australia but Shaun Marsh and Warner started off well. Once the first wicket went down though, the rest followed in a hurry. Herath ended up with another 7 wickets (and 28 in the series) - his 26th 5-for in Tests, more than the likes of Wasim Akram and Steyn!
What Next for Sri Lanka?
Sri Lanka will be thrilled with a 3-0 result after the nightmare in England. The biggest positive is that they have found 2 talented young batsmen in Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya De Silva who have shown they have the temperament for Test cricket.
Kaushal Silva delivered a ton in his last innings of the series, showing a lot of character. Mathews had a quiet series, but Chandimal scored a century, and Kusal Perera looked his Jayasuriya-like self while also keeping brilliantly in the last Test. Roshen Silva, a middle-order batsman averaging 50 in First Class cricket, waits in reserve.
The fast bowlers didn’t have much of a chance to impress, Sri Lanka just have to make sure all of them are fit! The spinners, were - as expected - the difference between the 2 sides. Herath was wily and accurate as he always is, and Dilruwan looks like he can take on the Herath role once the champion bowler retires. Sandakan looks exciting, and Sri Lanka have Vandersay and Tharindu Kaushal as spinning options as well.
However, the batsmen need to prove themselves all over again in overseas conditions – the upcoming away series in December-January against South Africa is going to be a huge challenge for the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis. The openers have to score more runs. If they pass the South African test, this may be the start of a good era for Sri Lankan Test cricket after all the doom and gloom of the last year.
What Next for Australia:
Australia will be devastated with their performance in this series. They also play South Africa, in November, and also have Tests against Pakistan, and lots of limited overs games in a long home season.
Their issues against spin might be glossed over series on Australian pitches (though Yasir Shah may have something to say about that), so their big challenge is going to be next year’s series in India (dates yet to be announced).
Playing batsmen suited to spinning conditions is an important step, and Shaun Marsh looks like he definitely will play ahead of Burns on spinning pitches. Khawaja, Burns and Voges should find batting easier in Australia, while it remains to be seen if S. Marsh will find a place in the team.
Mitchell Marsh usually looks to be in control while batting, but then inexplicably gets out. He needs a few runs and wickets to justify his place in the team. Australia has a lot of young batsmen making a mark in Shield cricket - Peter Handscomb, Cameron Bancroft, and Travis Head among others, and we may see some of them in the Test team in the near future.
Mitchell Starc looks menacing and has able support from the likes of Hazlewood, Jackson Bird and Peter Siddle. Australia will also hope that the perennially injured James Pattinson can make it back to the national team at some stage. Lyon clearly has to improve in subcontinental conditions, even if he picked up 16 wickets in this series. Holland didn’t really make much of an impression in this series, so might go out of the squad.
The Aussies have lost their Number 1 ranking after this series, but will be marginal favourites against strong Pakistan and South Africa teams simply because of their home advantage!
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