Australia eased to a nine-wicket victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test at Galle to wrap up a 2-0 series win and send home opener Dimuth Karunaratne into retirement with a defeat.
Usman Khawaja (27no), Marnus Labuschagne (26no) and Travis Head (20) took the tourists to their victory target of 75 in 17.4 overs on the fourth morning – and to a first series triumph in Sri Lanka since 2011 – with Labuschagne clipping the winning single through square leg off Karunaratne’s part-time off-spin.
Sri Lanka had earlier been dismissed for 231 in their second innings after adding 20 runs to their overnight 211-8.
Australia’s Nathan Lyon (left) took seven wickets in the Test to take his career tally in the format to 553
Nathan Lyon (4-84) – who now has 553 Test wickets for Australia – and Beau Webster (2-6) claimed the final two scalps, removing Kusal Mendis (50) and tailender Lahiru Kumara (9) respectively.
Karunaratne had been out to Matthew Kuhnemann (4-63) for 14 a day earlier in his final Test innings, after making 36 on day one as he began his 100th and last game in the format.
The batter ends his Test career with 7,222 runs, fourth on Sri Lanka’s all-time list behind Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews.
Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne retires from Test cricket with 7,222 runs in 100 matches
Karunaratne’s match-ending over of spin was then the first time he had bowled in a Test in almost three years
The Galle Test was also a milestone one for Australia’s Steve Smith, whose fourth century in five games moved him to 36 in total, level with England’s Joe Root and retired India great Rahul David.
Smith’s five catches in the match took him to 200 in Tests, eclipsing the previous Australia record of 196 set by Ricky Ponting.
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Watch all the action from the ICC Champions Trophy, live on Sky Sports from February 19 to March 19
Australia – who won the first Test at the same venue by an innings and 242 runs – will now play Sri Lanka in a two-match ODI series before they take part in the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE, live on Sky Sports from February 19 to March 9.
Sri Lanka did not qualify for the Champions Trophy after finishing ninth of the 10 sides at the 2023 World Cup in India.
ICC Champions Trophy groups
Top two sides in each pool advance to the semi-finals
- Group A: Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan
- Group B: Afghanistan, Australia, England, South Africa
Watch every match from the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy live on Sky Sports between February 19 and March 9 or stream with NOW.
