Australia secures victory
Australia has secured a memorable Boxing Day Test victory inside of three days after bashing and bruising Sri Lanka at the MCG.
A man-of-the-match performance from Mitch Johnson, who claimed figures of 4-63 and 2-16 after finishing unbeaten on 92, was underpinned by a brutal bowling display that included Kumar Sangakkara retiring hurt on 27 with a suspected broken finger.
With Prasanna Jaywardene suffering a hairline fracture to the top of his right thumb after being hit by a Johnson bouncer during the first innings, and tail-ender Chanaka Welegedara also unable to bat through a hamstring injury, Sri Lanka was dismissed for 103 in 24.2 overs to hand Australia victory by an innings and 201 runs.
Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers paceman Peter Siddle (1-32) claimed the final wicket of the match as Sri Lanka finished seven down with a growing casualty ward and the 28-year-old was full of praise for Johnson.
“We want to go to Sydney, we don’t want to slip up there,” Siddle told ABC radio ahead of the third Vodafone Test in Sydney.
“We want to keep building and keep putting them down.
“(Johnson’s) got that x-factor, he can do anything to any team.”
Earlier in the day, Australia added just 20 more to its overnight total of 8-440 with Johnson left stranded eight runs shy of his second Test hundred.
During a disastrous run-chase, Sri Lanka lost 3-3 inside the opening two overs as Dimuth Karunaratne was run out for one and Tillakaratne Dilshan was caught at short leg off the bowling of Johnson for a golden duck.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene also failed to trouble the scorers as he shouldered arms to a rising delivery from Jackson Bird (2-29) that caught his edge and bowled him.
The demise of Sangakkara ended any hopes Sri Lanka may have had of forcing Australia to bat again as the hosts retained the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy with a Test to play.
To see the full scorecard, click here.
Recent Posts
-
2 April, 2024Cricket Victoria launches Melbourne Cricket Academy in India in partnership with KheloMore Sports
-
27 March, 2024Victoria to host first-ever day-night MCG Test
-
26 March, 2024Carlton and Melbourne triumph this Kookaburra Victorian Premier Cricket season
-
18 March, 2024Winners announced at the 2023-24 Community Cricket Awards
-
10 March, 2024Victoria name squad for must-win Shield clash
Categories
Archives
Please note that Lane Bookings cannot be purchased in the same cart transaction as other online shop orders – they must be purchased separately.