Second Test, Day 4, Manuka Oval Canberra, Lunch

Australia  5-534 dec, Second innings 3-196 dec 

Sri Lanka 9-215, Second innings 149 all out

Fernando 0, Rajitha 1

Australia won by 366 runs    

———————————————————————–

Australia has ended a challenging summer of Test cricket with a huge win over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Canberra on Monday.

Australia dismissed Sri Lanka for 149 on the afternoon of day four to win the match by 366 runs.

Captain Tim Paine now says he can’t wait to get to England for the Ashes series in August.

Paine admits he has been planning for that encounter for a while.

“(I began planning for the Ashes) about six months ago. I’ve been dreaming of it actually. I’m happy now we’ve got this out of the way and I can put everything into it because every Australian cricketer can’t wait to go and play in an Ashes series and particularly in England.”

“It’s something I’ve dreamed of as a kid – I didn’t ever think I’d be going over as the captain – but I’ve been watching England closely and can’t wait to get over there,” Paine said.

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIA WINS 🇦🇺

Mitchell Starc takes 10 wickets for the match! #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/gB0RXaaT77

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 4, 2019

Mitchell Starc returned to form with match figures of 10-100. It was the first 10-wicket haul for Starc since he claimed 11 wickets against Sri Lanka at Galle in August 2016.

Starc’s 10-wicket haul saw him named the player of the match and he said he was always confident he could perform on a Manuka wicket that was making its Test debut.

“A few of us played the Shield game here earlier in the year so we had a fair idea of what we might be coming into. We knew if we stuck to our plans we had some momentum coming from Brisbane,” Starc said.

“It’s been the game we’ve been searching for all summer, and the way we bowled was fantastic to see for such a young and inexperienced group,” Starc said.

Usman Khawaja, who returned to form with a century in this match, said it was a satisfying way to end the Test campaign.

“Any series win is a good one and it’s our first since the Ashes (last summer). The boys played beautifully,” he said.

Pat Cummins took 14 wickets in the two Tests against Sri Lanka and was named the player of the series.

It was Starc who made the early breakthrough, with Dimuth Karunaratne (8) clipping the ball onto his stumps in Starc’s first over of the day.

GONE! Starc knocks Karunaratna over! #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/bi31Ffhsvx

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 3, 2019

Starc then followed up with the Dinesh Chandimal (4) who was caught in slips by Marnus Labuschagne.

Pat Cummins’ athleticism was on display as he completed a diving return catch off his own bowling to claim the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne (30) and claim the third Sri Lankan wicket in the morning session.

GONE! @patcummins30 takes the diving catch off his own bowling! #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/J06XH6ATqN

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 4, 2019

Niroshan Dickwella (27) was undone by a shooter from Starc that kept low and rattled his off-stump.

The very next delivery Kusal Perera (0) edged behind to be caught by Paine. Dhananjaya de Silva was able to survive the hat-trick delivery but his team’s chances of survival were remote.

WICKET: Perera goes for a duck.

📺 Watch LIVE on #FoxCricket &
📰 Join our match centre: https://t.co/RR9j3bYT1B #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/gNjoICnher

— Fox Cricket (@FoxCricket) February 4, 2019

Soon after the resumption of play after lunch, Jhye Richardson picked up his first wicket of the innings, removing de Silva (6) who flicked a regulation catch to Travis Head at mid-on.

Mendis (42) was on the cusp of Test half-century when he drove Marnus Labuschagne straight to Kurtis Patterson at cover.

A wicket for Labuschagne!

Mendis hits it straight to cover, and Sri Lanka seven down #AUSvSL pic.twitter.com/I4dtlLRIpT

— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) February 4, 2019

Sri Lanka fell away badly, losing its last four wickets for six runs and now heads to South Africa to try and pick up the pieces.

Australia finished its campaign with back-to-back Test victories for the first time since the fifth Test of the 2017-18 Ashes campaign in Sydney and its victory over South Africa in Durban in March 2018.

Paine believes his team has come along way from the tumultuous events in Cape Town in March 2018.

“I’m really proud of the way that we’ve gone about it. We spoke at the start of the summer that our main priority was to win back the respect of the Australian public and cricket fans,” Paine said.

“Sitting here now I feel we’ve gone a long way to doing that. We’ve probably still got a bit of work to do, but I think we’re on the right track.”