Pat Cummins took a career-best 6-23 to help Australia crush Sri Lanka by an innings and 40 runs inside three days in the series opening day-night Test in Brisbane on Saturday.
Australian players are jubilant after taking the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne
Brisbane:
“Any Test team that you can beat in three days is a huge effort,” Australia captain Tim Paine said. “It’s not easy to do to take 20 wickets and score enough runs and have a Test match done in three days.”
“But we’re not anywhere near the finished product. We are a long way off where we want to be.”
While Cummins was adjudged man-of-the-match, Jhye Richardson also impressed by claiming two second innings wickets on his debut with Australia comfortably maintaining its record of not having lost a Test at the Gabba since 1988.
“If Pat Cummins bowls like he bowled in this test match against anyone he’s going to take wickets,” Paine said. “I thought he was just relentless with his line and length.
“I thought he and Jhye in particular with their discipline and their ability to keep hitting a spot and wearing them down was outstanding.” Resuming at 17-1 Saturday, Sri Lanka’s hopes of saving the match were dealt a heavy blow when Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis fell in consecutive overs from Cummins at the start of the day.
After taking a wicket with the final ball of day two, it took Cummins just two balls on day three to get his next wicket, squaring-up the scoreless Chandimal and finding the edge which ballooned to Kurtis Patterson at gully. In his next over, Cummins teased an attempted drive from Mendis (one), who edged to Joe Burns at second slip.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka (1st innings) 144 & (2nd innings) 139 (L Thirimanne 32, P Cummins 6/23) lost to Australia (1st innings) 323
The paceman completed his maiden 10-wicket match haul as Australia bundled out Sri Lanka for 139, five fewer than the tourist had managed in its first innings, to register only its second Test win of the summer at the Gabba.
“Any Test team that you can beat in three days is a huge effort,” Australia captain Tim Paine said. “It’s not easy to do to take 20 wickets and score enough runs and have a Test match done in three days.”
“But we’re not anywhere near the finished product. We are a long way off where we want to be.”
While Cummins was adjudged man-of-the-match, Jhye Richardson also impressed by claiming two second innings wickets on his debut with Australia comfortably maintaining its record of not having lost a Test at the Gabba since 1988.
“If Pat Cummins bowls like he bowled in this test match against anyone he’s going to take wickets,” Paine said. “I thought he was just relentless with his line and length.
“I thought he and Jhye in particular with their discipline and their ability to keep hitting a spot and wearing them down was outstanding.” Resuming at 17-1 Saturday, Sri Lanka’s hopes of saving the match were dealt a heavy blow when Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis fell in consecutive overs from Cummins at the start of the day.
After taking a wicket with the final ball of day two, it took Cummins just two balls on day three to get his next wicket, squaring-up the scoreless Chandimal and finding the edge which ballooned to Kurtis Patterson at gully. In his next over, Cummins teased an attempted drive from Mendis (one), who edged to Joe Burns at second slip.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka (1st innings) 144 & (2nd innings) 139 (L Thirimanne 32, P Cummins 6/23) lost to Australia (1st innings) 323