Sri Lanka clinched their first ever whitewash and entered the history books by winning the series against Australia with the victory of the third and final test played at the SSC Grounds. Sri Lanka beat Australia by 163 runs in the final test to win their first ever series against Australia in 17 years.

Sri Lanka first won their series win against the Ausssies back in 1999 with the result 1 – 0. Before this series, Sri Lanka had beaten Australia just once – one single Test in 33 years of cricket between the nations. Kumar Sangakkara, perhaps the finest batsman Sri Lanka has ever produced, played 134 Tests and never tasted victory against Australia.

Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath finished as the leading wicket taker by picking up 28 at an average 12.75. Herath picked up 6 for 81 in the first innings and 7 for 64 in the second innings bagging up a total of 13 wickets. Incidentally Hearth’s 13 wickets was the best match figures for SL vs AUS beating Muttiah Muralitharan’s record of 11.

Set 324 for victory, Australia briefly dreamed of a consolation win while David Warner was moving briskly to 68. But once he departed the capitulation came quickly, Australia bowled out for 160, defeated by 163 runs. This defeat has dropped Australia from their No. 1 ranking to No.3 in the ICC Test Rankings as India and Pakistan claim 1st and 2nd, while Sri Lanka moved up to 6.

Australia lost 9 wickets in their second innings for 60 runs in 18 overs after the opening stand of David Warner and Shaun Marsh was broken for 77.

Following are some interest facts on the match:

• This is the third time Australia has been whitewashed in a Test series in Asia. Previously stats were – 4-0 by India 2012-13, 2-0 by Pakistan 2014-15 and 3-0 by Sri Lanka 2016.
• Dhananjaya de Silva became the first SL player to score a century and fifty in the same Test batting at No. 7 or lower.
• Runs added by Australia’s No. 3, 4, 5 & 6 combined in this innings – their lowest in a Test inns vs SL. Previous lowest: 25 in Kandy 2004-05.
• Mitchel Starc became the highest wicket taker by a visiting fast bowler in a Test Series in Sri Lanka by breaking Richard Hadlee’s record of 23 wickets. Starc dismissed Mendis as the 24th wicket in the series.
• Australia’s loss in Colombo was their ninth consecutive Test defeat in Asia, a record that augurs exceptionally poorly for their four-Test tour of India early next year.

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