Australia Whitewashes Sri Lanka in Test: 20 Years Later

Sri Lanka was defeated by Australia by 9 wickets in the second Test match, resulting in a whitewash in the series. With this victory, Australia has whitewashed Sri Lanka at home for the first time in 20 years.

At the Galle International Stadium, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first. Thanks to solid innings from Kusal Mendis (85) and Dimuth Karunaratne (74), Sri Lanka managed to score 257 runs in their first innings. However, they couldn't withstand the Australian bowlers. Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Nathan Lyon took 3 wickets each.

On the other hand, Australia built a huge total of 414 runs in their first innings, taking a 157-run lead over Sri Lanka. Alex Carey scored 156 runs, and captain Steve Smith scored 131 runs. Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya took a five-wicket haul, while Nishan Peiris claimed three wickets.

Trailing by a significant margin, Sri Lanka's batting in the second innings also faltered. They were dismissed for 231 runs. Angelo Mathews scored 76 runs, and Kusal Mendis added 50 runs. Australia's Kuhnermann and Lyon both claimed four wickets each.

Australia needed only 75 runs to win in the second innings, and they achieved the target with just one wicket down. Alex Carey was named Man of the Match, while Steve Smith was awarded Player of the Series.