Australian spinners shine in a statement win at Galle

Sri Lanka’s timid batting approach

On a surface that had the name of the batters, it wasn’t easy for the batters to play the long game. That’s where Sri Lanka’s batting approach in the first innings was highly questionable. On one of the best batting days in Galle, the hosts began firmly when Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne began to pick apart the bad deliveries. 

But from thereon, Sri Lanka’s timid batting approach was what ultimately caused them the downfall. In 354 deliveries, the hosts only managed to put on 212 runs on the board. 27.3% of the Sri Lankan runs in the first innings came off the bat of Niroshan Dickwella. 

What did Dickwella do that the others didn’t?The left-hander was very clear in his approach: attack is the best form of defence. As we saw it in the other Test between New Zealand and England, the left-hander, throughout his innings attacked the Australian bowlers. 39 out of the 59 balls, Dickwella used his feet, striking at 102, where 40 of his 58 runs came. 

35 of his runs came via the various sweep-shots, which became one of the batting trends at the venue over the next three days. While the control % was bound to drop, Dickwella showed the way the batters should approach on a surface that had batters’ name written. The lack of that approach from the batters ultimately cost Sri Lanka the Test. 

Proactive Australia or lacklustre Lankan bowling?

Australian batters were adaptive and immediately took the Sri Lankan bowlers head-on, employing the various sweep shots. While both Usman Khawaja and David Warner were impressive in their batting approach, they were given a rather easy pass by the Sri Lankan spinners, who erred in their line and length during the first session with the ball. 

During Warner’s stay at the crease, the southpaw smacked 25 runs off 24 deliveries. 20.8% of those deliveries were on the full-length, with 4.2% on the Yorker length. The four boundaries that Warner scored were right in the slot, two wide and two short of the length. 26% of the deliveries from the Sri Lankan spinners were in lengths which were easier to attack.

Barring Ramesh Mendis, the other Sri Lankan spinners were far from good. Their lines and lengths were far from impressive, and in fact, they only bowled 67.8% of the balls on a good length. In comparison, Mendis bowled 80.7% on that length, which forced the Australian batters to take risks. 

“We've played with these boys [the spinners] for the last couple of years, I think they're good enough to know how to do their job over here. We bowled well in patches - I think Ramesh bowled really well but the others couldn't support him,” Karunaratne admitted in the post-match presentation.

110 of Australia’s runs in the first innings were off sweep shots. It was perhaps this that was a telling factor between the two sides. If Sri Lankan are to make a comeback in the series, they would need more than Mendis to contribute with the ball. 

Green-Carey and the match-winning partnership

Cameron Green had grown up playing cricket on bouncy surfaces at the WACA in Perth. But the way he has batted – both in Pakistan and Sri Lanka – you would think that he was born in the sub-continent. The 1.98 m right-hander made full use of his reach and shunned the ball before it spun. 

“Good first game. A few guys said just to be proactive. If you go out there just defending, you get yourself in trouble. Looking to score is how you give yourself the best chance. You're gonna get out at some point so you might as well play some shots,” said Green post the Test. 

Green attempted 15 sweeps in the first innings, where he scored 25 runs, at a strike rate of 166.7. But more importantly, he was proactive during his stay at the crease. In 74 of his 109 deliveries, the right-hander was either on his front foot or had charged down the wicket to eliminate the late turn. While he would have been disappointed by his dismissal, he wouldn’t be disappointed by his innings. 

On the other hand, Carey used the sweep and reverse to perfection, scoring 27 runs behind the wicket, scoring 29 runs off just the various sweep shots. While there was the element of luck, it was this partnership of 84 (93) that helped Australia to a big lead on this surface. 

Nine-headed Lyon enters the top-ten club

11 years after his Test debut at the same venue, Nathan Lyon walked out with an improved skillset. His first ball of the innings was a sharp turner that drifted and turned past Dimuth Karunaratne’s edge. That was perhaps the first telling signs of how the conditions were going to play in Galle over the next few days. Lyon was sharp, intelligent and more importantly, heavily effective. 

What set Lyon apart from the others was the fact that he got variable bounce on the pitch, which made sweep an extremely tough shot against him. While some balls spit off the surface, taking the top edge off the sweep shots, the others shot down and caught the inside-edge. In the second innings, it was only a matter of time for Lyon, with the surface heavily aiding the spinners.

Lyon has been a big piece of Australia’s success in the past but in the recent past, he has lacked a big performance. His nine-wicket haul at Galle now only further strengthens his place in the all-time greats for spinners around the world. He also entered the top-ten club for most wickets taken by a bowler in Test history.