Colombo, Feb 10: Australia won the second Test against Sri Lanka by nine wickets in Galle on Sunday to sweep the series 2-0. Set a target of 75 to win, Australia lost only Travis Head as they romped to a commanding victory before lunch on day four. Steve Smith’s men had earlier on Sunday bundled Sri Lanka out for 231, after the hosts had resumed on 211-8 from overnight. Sri Lanka’s resistance lasted just 26 minutes, losing Kusal Mendis for 50 and Lahiru Kumara for nine. Spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann took four wickets each for Australia.Steven Smith, Australia captain: It was a really good series. We played really well from the outset. The way the batters were able to adapt was outstanding. All of our bowlers did a terrific job, Mitchell Starc included. And the spinners went to work. We had a really good training camp in Dubai before coming here. All of our batters bat differently. Usman and Carey like to sweep a lot, me and Marnus use our feet. It’s been really fun. We’ve got such a great group here. I really enjoy captaining in this part of the world. All the movements you need to make, the intricacies involved. I thought Alex played exceptionally well. That partnership obviously helped us set up the game.
Dhananjaya de Silva, SL captain: Very disappointed. Losing home series 2-0 is very disappointing. These conditions are very suitable for us. We haven’t had opportunities to get into the game. Aussies proved why they are finalists. We haven’t done well in first innings, whether bowling or batting. 260 isn’t enough. Losing four wickets in an hour isn’t going to help. The consistency – they put the ball everytime in the same place (talking about Aus spinners). Very hard to score as a batter.
