Twitter Reactions: Prabath Jayasuriya, Dinesh Chandimal flatten Australia to level series

Sri Lanka overcame all odds to register a convincing win against Australia in the second Test match at the Galle International Stadium by a comprehensive margin of an innings and 39 runs. Coming into this contest, the Aussies were regarded as the outright favourites to seal the two-match series, but the hosts did the unthinkable to ensure that it ended at 1-1.

The Lankans were forced to field a depleted side for this must-win contest with most of their key players testing COVID-19 positive and in spite of that, the hosts ensured that they did not press the panic button and made their performances do the talking on the field. Australia, who had come into this contest on the back of an outstanding 10-wicket win in the series opener, looked totally clueless this time around with both bat and ball.

Sri Lanka register a morale-boosting win in the second Test against Australia

Australian skipper Pat Cummins called it right at the toss and elected to bat first. The visitors did make the most of their chances and posted a good first innings total of 364 riding on centuries from Steve Smith (145*) and Marnus Labuschagne (104), respectively. The visitors’ first innings total looked good at one point in time, but the Sri Lankan batters had other ideas.

The hosts’ top-order and the middle-order chipped in when it mattered the most, as it was former skipper Dinesh Chandimal’s unbeaten 206 that ultimately turned out to be the difference-maker in deciding the eventual outcome of the contest. Chandimal’s impactful double century powered Sri Lanka to a mammoth 554, which helped them enjoy a huge first innings lead of 190 runs.

Nonetheless, the Australian second innings was steamrolled on what seemed to be a perfect turning track with spin sensation Prabath Jayasuriya registering a match-winning 6/59. Maheesh Theekshana 2/28 and Ramesh Mendis 2/47 played great supporting roles as the visitors were all out for just 151. Apart from Marnus Labuschagne (32), none of the other players could score 30 or more runs. The Sri Lankan victory has prevented Australia from registering a back-to-back Test series victory in the subcontinent.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: