Highlights
- The Warne-Muralidaran Tropy is now shared between Australia and Sri Lanka
- Dinesh Chandimal has been named as the player of the series
The Warne-Muralidaran trophy is all set to be shared between two nations Australia and Sri Lanka as the series now stands leveled between two great cricketing nations. Sri Lanka who were bowled out in a single session in the first Test have now returned the favor courtesy of Prabath Jayasuriya's 12 wickets. Not only did Jayasuriya perform wonders for his team but it was also Dinesh Chandimal who outdid the Australian team with his mighty batting skills.
Dinesh Chandimal stunned the Australian team by scoring 206* off 326 deliveries with 16 fours and 5 sixes at the strike rate of 63.19. The Aussies lost 9 wickets in the final session of day 4 which resulted in an innings defeat for them. Prabath Jayasuriya had a debut to remember as he was the wrecker-in-chief in the Australian collapse. The likes of Usman Khwaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, and Cameroon Green all fell to Prabath and they looked completely clueless against him.
"Was a tough wicket in the first game. When I say the wicket here, thought that the pitch is going to be good in the first three days. Wanted to capitalize on that time. Thought that if we can get more than 100 lead, we could put them under pressure. Thanks to my family. There were a lot of ups and downs. Was in the side, not in the side. But your family and wife are there. Teammates always give their support, the support staff and fans all of them", says Chandimal as he helped his team secure a lead of 190 runs which trapped the Aussies into all sorts of difficulties.
Australia had toured the island nation for three T20Is, five ODIs, and two-match Test series. The Aussies clinched the T20I series by 2-1, whereas the Sri Lankans stunned them by winning the ODI series by 3-2. The Warne-Muralidaran trophy is also now shared between the two teams which certainly cements the fact that the Sri Lankan cricket team is improving slowly and steadily and Australia will have a lot of things to think about when they analyze this game.
