Yesterday it was storming in Galle. Today, it’s raining wickets.
Sri Lanka’s hopes are slipping further and further away as Australia picked up exactly where they left off on Day four in Galle, taking the last five wickets in quick succession to dismiss the hosts for 165 – with the Aussies not hesitating to enforce the follow-on with a lead of 489 runs.
However, it hasn’t stopped there – with Mitchell Starc and Todd Murphy removing both the Sri Lankan openers inside the first five overs, and while Dinesh Chandimal has offered the most resistance, combining with Angelo Mathews in a 69-run partnership, his dismissal just before lunch sees Sri Lanka in all sorts of trouble, at 3/75.
It has been a stellar day for the Aussies in the field, with Matthew Kuhnemann leading the charge and picking up five wickets in the first innings, with Nathan Lyon effectively supporting him with three wickets of his own.
The hosts will be praying for a miracle to get out of this match – which could emerge in the form of an unfavourable forecast, with more time set to be lost on day four.
Despite being on the verge of taking a step closer to a first series win in Sri Lanka since 2011, Mitchell Starc admitted there was plenty still to do.
“The wicket is only going to get worse,” he said before the start of play.
“With the calibre of spinners we have, if we field well and hold our catches, we’d like to think we’re a good chance.”
Kuhnemann has claimed that while his bowling did a lot of work, Steve Smith’s approach to captaincy is playing a major part in the result – especially in the dismissal of dangerous captain Dhananjaya de Silva.
“That was down to Smudge. He made the field adjustment, he brought mid-off up and brought mid-on even further up and around,” the spin bowler said.
“Very clear for me, his message for me is to bowl my best ball and do that consistently and then come up with a plan. That was all him, so credit to Smudge for that wicket.”
Pundits react to Sri Lankan performance
The match might not even be over yet, but fans have been quick to voice their frustration – or enjoyment – following Sri Lanka’s stunning collapse on day four.
As the wickets fell, fans commented not just on the stunning speed of the capitulation, but the approach of the Aussies in Galle – when some even apologising to Australia’s selectors for their perceived criticism of their choices heading into the match.
Josh Inglis of Australia celebrates after taking the wicket of Nishan Peiris. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)
Chandimal the only silver lining on grim day for Sri Lanka
Every metric you look at it, the numbers make for dire reading if you are a Sri Lankan fan.
However, even as the side hopes for the rain to break, the efforts of former skipper Dinesh Chandimal have been praised – his 72-run stand accounting for nearly half of the Sri Lankan total.
While he was unable to replicate the heroics in the second innings, his 69-run partnership with Angelo Mathews helped stem the regular flow of wickets, eventually being dismissed just before the lunchbreak by Nathan Lyon for 31 – the second time Lyon had dismissed him that day.
“He’s batting beautifully at the moment,” Matthew Kuhnemann said of the Sri Lankan leading into day four.
“Playing some lovely shots against all of us, really. So just whether or not (we try) to block that boundary option for him and sort of get him defending, sort of get him out caught, bat pads, slip and whatnot.”
While Chandimal will leave Galle with his form somewhat unscathed the same cannot be said for incumbent captain Dhananjaya de Silva.
Everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for the skipper, missing two opportunities on reviewal, putting Usman Khawaja was on 54, and throwing his wicket away being stumped by Alex Carey on 22.
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