Cricket News: Sri Lanka VS Australia - Prabath Jayasuriya and Dinesh Chandimal help SL win on Day 4

As the third day was halted at a lead of 67 runs for Sri Lanka, all eyes were on the fourth day of the match. Everyone was expecting a tough fight from both sides, and many estimated that this game would go till the last day. However, after a bamboozling attack from the Lankan bowlers, the men in yellow were rattled catastrophically. The Sri Lankan power seemed to dominate the guests with the bat first and then the ball, to which the Australian team succumbed terribly. 

A massive total from the hosts; Dinesh Chandimal scored an unbeaten 206

The fourth day started with Sri Lanka's score at 431 for a loss of 6 with a lead of 67 runs. The batters started the day cautiously as the lower order struggled against the Australian bowling attack. Centurion Dinesh Chandimal was playing at a score of 118 and was seen in great flow. However, Dinesh Chandimal continued the game just like he ended Day 3 and scored runs all over the ground. While other batters tried to keep Chandimal on strike as an aggressor, Chandimal did his job brilliantly. Carrying this, the lower batsman Ramesh Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal added valuable 68 runs to the seventh wicket. 

After an arduous struggle, experienced Mitchell Starc finally gave a breakthrough to the team with Mendis' wicket. Ramesh Mendis departed at a score of 29 as he failed to withstand Mitchell Starc's deadly swinger, which ended his inning with an LBW. Thus, the team lost its seventh wicket at a score of 477. After the seventh wicket, the other batters failed to add many runs; however, Chandimal continued his destruction with the bat. The right-handed batter fought like a lone warrior, and due to his fabulous double century, the hosts managed to register a monstrous total of 554 with a massive lead of 190 runs. Chandimal scored unbeaten 206 runs off 326 deliveries with 16 boundaries and five maximums in this vast total. For Australia, pacer Mitchell Starc bagged four wickets in return for 89 runs, while Mitchell Swepson managed to clinch three wickets.

A catastrophic collapse for the mighty Australian team

The Australian team was at a critical stage as they were 190 runs behind the opponents and had to record a huge score to get back into the game. Openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja walked in with huge expectations and started quite carefully. Although the two were seen struggling against the deadly swingers, they batted pretty well in the first ten overs of the game. However, in the 13th over, Ramesh Mendis trapped David Warner at a score of 29. Thus, Australia lost its first wicket at a score of 49. Just a few over after the first wicket, Prabath Jayasuriya got rid of Usman Khawaja, who had scored 29. At the same score, the team lost its third wicket as Australia's star batter Steven Smith departed on a duck who had scored a century in the first inning. The team collapsed as all the batters failed to withstand the opponent's bowling unit. Marnus Labuschagne tried to rescue his team but departed with a score of 32. The team was now at 112 for five, and the situation was getting worse for the guests. The team was still 78 runs behind and was hoping for some miracle from the lower order. However, the batters were disappointed, and the team lost its wicket at regular intervals. Thus, Sri Lanka wrapped up the opponents' innings at a score of just 150, sealing a massive win over the Australians. It was one of the biggest wins over Australia by the Lankans. 

Sri Lanka leveled the series with this excellent win

With this victory, the hosts managed to level the two-match series at 1-1, which was quite shocking for Australia's team. Prabath Jayasuriya was named the player of the match for his 12 wickets, while Dinesh Chandimal was named the player of the series for his incredible performance in the two games. With this great victory, the Sri Lankan team increased their dominance in test cricket, which will help them in their journey to the Test Championship.