Australia has retained the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy after a dominant victory in the series opener at Galle International Stadium, defeating Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs.
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Tweakers Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann ripped through the Sri Lankans on the spin-friendly deck, with 15 wickets falling on day four after Australian captain Steve Smith opted to enforce the follow-on.
It was Sri Lanka’s heaviest defeat in Tests and Australia’s fourth-largest victory in the game’s longest format.
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia gets underway at the same venue on Thursday, with the first ball scheduled for 3.30pm AEDT.
AUS benefit from controversial wicket | 01:09
‘GENIUS’ SMITH NAILS CAPTAINCY RETURN
Australia is incredibly lucky to have Steve Smith as Pat Cummins’ deputy.
With the Australian skipper unavailable for the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy due to family commitment and an ankle complaint, Smith was tasked with leading his country for the two-Test campaign in Sri Lanka.
With 38 Tests as Australian captain already under his belt, the New South Welshman was more than equipped to take on the added responsibility — and in the series opener in Galle, he showed why he’s considered a tactical genius.
After cracking a century in the first innings, Smith expertly manoeuvred the fielders and rotated the bowlers, refusing to let Sri Lanka’s batters settle in the middle — he treats captaincy in the subcontinent like a chess game.
His decision to open the bowling with Todd Murphy in the second innings proved a masterstroke, with the spectacled spinner knocking over Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne with his seventh delivery.
During Sri Lanka’s first innings, rival captain Dhananjaya de Silva was stumped after recklessly charging down the wicket at Matthew Kuhnemann. However, the Australian spinner credited his captain for the dismissal.
Smith had earlier that over brought up mid-off and mid-on, encouraging de Silva to try and attack down the ground — and he fell for the trap.
“That was down to Smudge,” Kuhnemann told reporters at stumps on day three.
“He made the field adjustment, he brought mid-off up and brought mid-on even further up and around.
“That was all him, so credit to Smudge for that wicket.
“Smudge tactically is a genius … for us bowlers, it’s about bowling our best ball, and then Smudge looks after the rest.”
Spinners star as Aus force SL follow-on | 01:29
With one exception, Smith was also superb with his use of the DRS, calling for a review on the final delivery before lunch on day four to remove Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews for 41.
The Galle triumph was Smith’s fourth Test victory as captain in Asia. Only one Australian skipper boasts more — Ricky Ponting with five.
‘PROUD UNCLE’: LYON MENTORS NEXT GENERATION OF AUSSIE SPINNERS
Sri Lanka has played an important role throughout Matthew Kuhnemann’s international career.
The spinner made his ODI debut in the Asian nation in 2022, also turning heads during that year’s Australia A tour, where he claimed six wickets in three matches.
Kuhnemann served as a net bowler for the Test squad ahead of the 2022 Warne–Muralitharan Trophy — and the Australian players liked what they saw.
“They loved him as a net bowler, the Australians. They thought he was a little mini (Ravindra) Jadeja,” cricket reporter Adam Collins said in commentary.
“They felt he prepped them well for the Test series.”
Three years later, Kuhnemann has returned to Sri Lanka for his second Test tour, helping Australia claim a comprehensive victory in Galle by taking nine wickets across the match.
After securing his second five-wicket haul in Tests, the left-armed tweaker combined with veteran Nathan Lyon to rip through Sri Lanka’s vulnerable middle order on Saturday afternoon, finishing with career-best match figures of 9-149.
Kuhnemann not only repaid the selectors’ faith following his recent thumb surgery, but once again proved the value of having a left-armed spinner in the starting XI.
“Guys that can take the ball away from the bat and present those threats of skid and spin and just bowl consistent balls, it’s very dangerous,” Smith said during the post-match press conference.
“He bowled beautifully.”
Kuhnemann and fellow tweaker Todd Murphy will join the Australian squad for several Test tours to the subcontinent over the coming decade, and they are fortunate to have Lyon as a mentor. The 37-year-old will share his knowledge with the two youngsters to ensure the generation of Australian spinners is prepared for whenever he decides to hang up the boots.
And Lyon takes great pride in witnessing their progress.
“In India a couple of years ago, (Lyon) was like a proud uncle when either of them bowled well,” Collins continued.
“When Murphy took seven (wickets in Nagpur), he was so chuffed for his teammate.
“Murphy was also on that Australia A tour in 2022. They’re quite valuable, aren’t they? Getting that experience at the in-between level before playing Test cricket.”
Matt Kuhnemann’s stunning second five-fa | 01:33
BIG BASH SACRIFICE PAYS OFF AFTER 2022 ‘STITCH UP’
During Australia’s previous Test tour of Sri Lanka in 2022, the visitors were presented with green seamers as practice wickets for a series played entirely on spinning decks.
The Australians felt as though their preparation had been sabotaged — so on this occasion, they took matters into their own hands.
Rather than travelling to Sri Lanka, Australia embarked on a week-long training camp in the United Arab Emirates where they had more control over their preparation.
Although the training camp meant several Australian players missed the Big Bash League finals, the sacrifice paid off when Steve Smith’s men cruised towards a thumping victory in Galle to retain the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy.
“The guys trained exceptionally well in Dubai in the lead-up,” Smith said during the post-match press conference.
“We were able to develop some wickets that we wanted to work on some things.”
Pending scheduling and availability, Dubai training camps could become the blueprint for Australia’s future tours of the subcontinent, rather than the traditional regime of warm-up matches against domestic teams.
“I’ve been on tours to Sri Lanka with the Australian cricket team where the training and preparation wasn’t ideal,” former national fielding coach Greg Blewett said on Channel 7.
“Quite frankly, the Australian team have been stitched up in the past with some of the pitches. “So they head to Dubai where they can control the preparation a little bit better, and it’s obviously worked in this case.”
‘ABSOLUTE GARBAGE’: SRI LANKAN SKIPPER’S BRAIN FADE
Test captains should lead by example, but Dhananjaya de Silva certainly didn’t do that in Galle this week.
Sri Lanka was 5-179 in the second innings on Saturday afternoon when he slapped Australian spinner Matthew Kuhnemann down the ground for an elegant boundary.
But rather than look to rotate the strike the following delivery, de Silva attempted to repeat the shot, instead chipping the ball towards point where Beau Webster settled underneath a regulation chance.
It was an ugly dismissal that exposed Sri Lanka’s lengthy tail and ended any chance of a miracle fightback.
“Absolute garbage from the captain,” Blewett said on Channel 7 commentary.
“That’s just not good enough.
“That is not a shot that your captain needs to be playing in these sort of circumstances.
“Totally unnecessary, and as I said, from your captain, it is very disappointing.”
Counterattacking batting had proven effective on the Galle deck over the previous three days, but de Silva didn’t get anywhere near the length of the ball.
The Sri Lankan skipper was also dismissed while slogging in the first innings, on that occasion stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey, while he drew criticism this week for his bowler rotation and use of the DRS.
“The shot selections were not the best,” Sri Lankan coach Sanath Jayasuriya confessed during the post-match press conference.
“Our experienced guys should know how to play and how to adjust themselves to different situations.”
Ahead of the series opener, de Silva complained about his team’s lack of Test cricket, with only 12 matches scheduled in the next World Test Championship cycle, but Sri Lanka will need to produce better performances if they want to challenge the likes of India, England and Australia.
‘ABSOLUTE NO-BRAINER’: SMITH’S 10-YEAR CAPTAINCY FIRST
The follow-on has become a rarity in the modern game.
Due to an increased emphasis on bowling workloads, Australia has often resisted the urge to send their opponents back out again, instead preferring to build their lead and set a massive target.
Pat Cummins has on five occasions been offered the option to enforce the follow-on, but only once pulled the trigger. During Steve Smith’s 38 previous matches as Test captain, he also made the call just once, against the West Indies in Hobart in 2015.
However, the circumstances were perfect in Galle on Saturday morning for Smith to enforce the follow-on.
With the threat of rain looming, the Australians didn’t know how much time they’d have to take the ten wickets required for victory, while the bowlers were well-rested after spending most of day three in the sheds.
And with the spinners doing most of the damage in Galle, Mitchell Starc’s workload wasn’t a cause for concern – the left-armed seamer was only required for eight overs in the first innings, less than he’d produce in an ODI.
“We had the luxury of a lot of runs on the board,” Smith later explained.
“We were fortunate enough to get some wickets really quickly.”
Blewett called the decision to enforce the follow-on a “no-brainer”.
“It’s rarely seen in modern cricket, because there’s a few teams that have been burned over the years,” he said, referencing the famous Kolkata Test of 2001.
“Obviously the Australians didn’t bowl much in that first innings – yesterday just about half the day was wiped out as well – so the Australian bowlers had a good rest.”
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