Lanka complete whitewash – India becomes No. 1 Test team

Sri Lanka: 355 & 347/8 dec;  Australia: 379 & 160

(Warner 68; Herath 7-64)

Sri Lanka clinched their first series whitewash over a major cricketing nation  as they won the third and final Test against Australia by 163 runs, with spinner Rangana Herath taking 7-64. Set a formidable target of 324 in their second innings, the world No. 1 Test side collapsed in the afternoon session on the fifth day and were all out for 160.

As well as losing the series 3-0, Australia also relinquished its status as the top-ranked test side, slipping to third, as its poor run in Asia continued. “The boys worked extremely hard, harder than the first two games, we really wanted the 3-0,” Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews said. It was the third time in a row that the Australians had lost all of their Tests in away series against teams from the sub-continent.

Sri Lanka had beaten Australia in a test series only once before, in 1999 under Sanath Jayasuriya’s captaincy. Set 324 to win with almost a full day’s play, Australia reached 77 without loss in its second innings but the dismissal of opener Shaun Marsh at the stroke of lunch triggered a batting collapse to 160 all out in the middle session.

For Australia this is the third straight whitewash defeat in Asia, after being beaten 2-0 by Pakistan and 4-0 by India. Australia won its last test series in Asia in 2011 against Sri Lanka.

“It’s a hard one to grasp really, it’s been a very tough series again, that is our third straight whitewash loss in the subcontinent,” said Australia captain Steve Smith.

“What we are doing isn’t working, batters aren’t adapting to the conditions, spin bowlers aren’t adapting to the conditions. I can’t fault our quicks, I thought they did a great job, particularly Mitchell Starc, but our batters and spinners are the ones who have to step up and we haven’t been able to do that.”

Herath accounted for Smith (8), Adam Voges (1), Mitchell Marsh (9), Peter Nevill (2), Starc (23), Josh Hazlewood (0) and Nathan Lyon (12) to finish with 7-64.

After 6-81 in the first innings, it was Herath’s seventh 10-wicket haul in a test with 13-145 overall.

The 38-year-old Herath was named man of the match — and man of the series — for his tally of 28 wickets