Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016: 5 talking points from the series

#2 Rangana Herath’s brilliant bowling performance throughout the series

Rangana Herath celebrates after picking one of his 7 wickets in the final innings

The veteran left-arm spinner has been a consistent performer for Sri Lanka ever since the retirement of Muralitharan and the southpaw didn’t disappoint in this series. He took a total of 28 wickets in the series and delivered whenever his side needed him. Besides that he has also contributed with the bat lower down the order.

In the first Test, he took four wickets in the first innings when the chips were down and bundled out the visitors for 203. In the 2nd innings when the hosts were pressing for the victory, Herath again bowled in superb areas and let the pitch do the rest. He finished with 5/54.

In the 1st innings of the 2nd Test Herath again dismissed four Aussie batsmen as they folded out for 106. It was Dilruwan Perera’s heroics in the 2nd innings that bamboozled the Aussies and Herath chipped in with 2 wickets. Herath also scored a vital 26 in the 2nd innings and stitched together a crucial partnership with Dilruwan Perera.

He was absolutely unplayable in the 3rd Test where he picked up 13 wickets. In the 1st innings when the Aussies were going along well he was the one who put the brakes on them and ensured they didn’t take a substantial lead. In the 2nd innings when the Aussies were chasing 324, it was again the southpaw who broke their backbone and finished with figures of 7/64.