While newcomer Prabath Jayasuriya claimed another six-wicket haul in the second innings to help Sri Lanka defeat Australia by an innings and 39 runs in the second Test at Galle, levelling the two-match series at 1-1, Dinesh Chandimal slammed an unbeaten double century, his highest score in Test cricket.
After Chandimal's unbroken 206 helped Sri Lanka reach 554, Jayasuriya followed up his 6-118 from the first innings with 6-59 in the second to take 12 wickets on his debut and force Australia to lose the match after losing nine wickets in the closing session on day four.
Australia's subpar batting performance in the second innings will once more cast doubt on their capacity to bat against the turning ball, particularly with an important Test series against India scheduled for next year.
Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis (29) got things done in the first hour after resuming with a 67-point advantage over the visitors. Before Mitchell Starc trapped Mendis in the lbw position and ended their 68-run stand, Chandimal was looking rock-solid and Mendis was contributing some significant runs.
Before noon, Maheesh Theekshana was let go. Following that, Chandimal pounded the Australian bowlers and inched closer to a double century. He blasted Starc for back-to-back sixes to reach the milestone, to the delight of the Sri Lankan locker room and the stadium's spectators. In addition, Chandimal made cricket history by being the first Sri Lankan to record a double century against Australia.
Mitchell Swepson's lbw catch of Kasun Rajitha marked the end of Australia's suffering, but the hosts had increased their lead to 190 runs by that point. Ramesh's lbw catch of David Warner just before the tea break gave Sri Lanka an important wicket. After that, Jayasuriya was the star of the show. Usman Khawaja was caught at the short leg, and Steve Smith was later lbw for a duck in the same over to trigger the Australian collapse.
Before Jayasuriya scored three times in the span of eleven balls, Ramesh defeated Travis Head utterly with a blistering off-break. Cameron Green was stumped, Mitchell Starc edged to slip, and Marnus Labuschagne was trapped lbw after missing a sweep. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon were quickly eliminated by Maheesh Theekshana, and Jayasuriya then castrated Mitchell Swepson to give Sri Lanka the victory.
Brief scores: Australia 364 and 151 in 41 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 32; Prabath Jayasuriya 6-59) lost to Sri Lanka 554 in 181 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 205 not out, Dimuth Karunaratne 86; Mitchell Starc 4-98, Mitchell Swepson 2-100) by an innings and 39 runs