Australia tour of Sri Lanka Archives

Covid hits Sri Lanka, three more players ruled out on eve of second Test

GALLE: Covid-19 outbreak took a toll on the Sri Lankan cricket team as three more players have tested positive, ruling them out of the second Test against Australia starting tomorrow.

All-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva, pacer Asitha Fernando and spinner Jeffrey Vandersay have tested positive for COVID-19 in a fresh round of testing carried out yesterday.

Earlier, left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickrama had been ruled out on Tuesday after testing positive for Covid.

Former skipper Angelo Mathews, on the other hand, has rejoined the squad after he was ruled out of the first Test against Australia as he tested positive ahead of the match.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka have called in two more spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Lakshan Sandakan as replacements to bolster their chances of leveling the series, currently led by Australia 1-0.

It is worth mentioning here that the Pakistan team has also landed in Colombo for the forthcoming two-match Test series against the hosts, scheduled from July 16.

READ: Support staff tests Covid positive after Pakistan team arrives in Colombo

Lyon surpasses Kapil Dev to join top 10 list of leading Test wicket-takers

GALLE: Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has earned a remarkable achievement to his credit as he became the 10th leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 436 wickets, surpassing former Indian captain Kapil Dev, who took 434 wickets.

Lyon reached the milestone in the first Test against Sri Lanka after he ripped through the opponent’s batting, claiming nine wickets in the match to take his side towards a comfortable victory by 10 wickets.

The newest member of the top 10:

Nathan Lyon.#SLvAUS pic.twitter.com/snaZA1a6un

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 1, 2022

The 34-year-old off-spinner stood 10th in the list, topped by Sri Lanka’s Muthiah Muralidaran with 800 wickets.

Lyon has become the third Australian in the top-ten list of leading Test wicket-taker after Shane Warne, 708 wickets, and Glenn McGrath, 563 wickets.

READ: ‘I’m a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan’ Ons Jabeur reveals her football passion

Australia blunt Sri Lanka in a low-scoring thriller, seal T20I series 2-0

COLOMBO: Australia squeezed out a victory against Sri Lanka by three wickets in a low-scoring second T20I match as the host’s meager target of 125 runs proved insignificant for the bowlers to defend, enabling the touring to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, here on Wednesday

Australia derailed halfway through their chase as Sri Lanka’s leg-break sensation Hasaranga de Silva grabbed two back-to-back wickets in the 12th over, just to slow down the batters’ march to reach the target. The touring side achieved the target in the 18th over for the loss of seven wickets to clinch the victory.

Sri Lanka, in the first inning, failed to lay out an impressive show after Australia invited them to bat first. The all-rounder Charith Asalanka and wicket-keeper batter Kusal Mendis braced the team after a shaky start, as the hosts lost two wickets early on.

The pair made a firm partnership of 66 runs before Asalanka fell prey to Glenn Maxwell in the 12th over on a total of 73 runs. Asalnka remained the top scorer for the team with his 39 runs off 33 balls, laced with two fours and two sixes. Sri Lankan camp underwent a panic mode after the blow as the team started to lose wickets at regular intervals.

The touring side was able to restrict the team to 124 as the right-arm pacer Kane Richardson stormed through the Sri Lankan lower order, grabbing four wickets in the death overs.

Australia, on the other hand, took full advantage of powerplay overs as the team reached 50 runs milestone in the fifth over. However, the Sri Lankan bowlers squeezed out wickets at regular intervals as Hasaranga remained the top wicket-taker for his side as he grabbed four crucial wickets

Mathew Wade was awarded “Man of the Match for his crucial and match-winning knock of 26 off 26 balls as he remained unbeaten to take his side home.

READ: Hasnain’s action declared legal, allowed to resume bowling

Hazlewood, Finch, Warner dominate hosts as Australia win by 10 wickets

COLOMBO: Australia completely thrashed out the hosts Sri Lanka to achieve a comprehensive 10 wickets victory as the speedster Josh Hazlewood starred with the bowl followed by a stellar show by the opening pair of Aaron Finch and David Warner in the first T20 here on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka failed to post a challenging total after a flourishing start as the team was all out on 128 runs in the 20th over. Fast bowlers Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc wreaked havoc on the Sri Lankan batting with a fine showcase of pace-bowling. Hazlewood stormed through the middle order in the 14th over, sending three batters to the pavilion.

Sri Lanka lost nine wickets for just 28 runs in the last eight overs of their inning.

Australia, on the other hand, faced no irritants in their chase as the opening pair of Finch and Warner sailed their team to the finish line without losing a wicket.

Australian skipper Finch remained not out on 61 off 40 balls, hitting four gigantic sixes and an equal number of fours, while, Warner scored an unbeaten 70 runs off 44 balls including 9 boundaries.

Hazlewood was awarded Man of the Match for his phenomenal display of fast bowling as he grabbed 4 wickets for just 16 runs. Left-arm pacer Starc, on the other hand, also took three crucial wickets for 26 runs.

READ: Trophy unveiled as Pakistan to take on West Indies in ODI series