Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd Test, Colombo

It was quite evident on the 4^th day of play that the result would be a draw, until or unless Sri Lankan bowlers come up with something magical on the final day. But that didn’t happen. Australia marched on with their captain guiding them with a true “captain innings” along with their most dependable batsman Michael Hussey to secure a draw in the third and final test of the Warne-Muralitharan series.  Michael Clarke started his campaign as a captain in style as he broke his own personal drought with his first Test century in 18 months; lead his team to a 1-0 win,
retained Warne-Muralitharan trophy and helped his team in moving up to fourth place in the ICC Test rankings.

Michael Clarke made his first Test ton as captain, Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd Test, Colombo, 5th day, September 20, 2011©AFP

Sri Lanka was in the driving seat on the first day for the first time in the series when they made early inroads into the Australia top order. They were 22/2 at one stage and then 120/4 later that day with Marsh and Ponting gave their side something to build upon. Marsh scored 81 runs and put up 79 for the 3^rdwicket partnership with Ponting who got out after scoring 48. It opened the door slightly for Sri Lanka but Michael Hussey came in between their way. He batted with sheer responsibility and kept on building useful partnerships with the lower middle order. He completed another century on the tour to take his side to a respectable total of 316. Eranga was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka as he took 4 for 65.

Sri Lanka started their first innings rather positively as their new opening pair of Paranavitana and Thirimanne scored 56 for the first wicket partnership. Useful contributions were made by Sangakkara, Jayawardene and skipper Dilshan as they all scored half centuries but the driving force for them was Angelo Mathews. He remained unbeaten after scoring a ton and ended up with a score of 105 not out. Sri Lanka took a first inning lead of 157 as they finished their first innings with a score of 473 with Siddle taking 4 wickets for 91.

Australia started off well this time around as two of their five top order batsmen scored centuries. Hughes batted fluently for his 126 while Clarke played a captain knock of 112, displaying an exquisite blend of defense and aggression. Hussey was amongst the runs yet again but he missed the chance of scoring second century of the match and got out at 93. Australia were finally bowled out for 488, and Sri Lanka had to bat only for two overs before the captains could agree to an early end. Apart from Herath, who toiled manfully to earn a career-best 7 for 157, none of the Sri Lankan bowlers looked threatening on the final day. It has raised further concerns about the Sri Lanka’s bowling attack as they haven’t won a Test ever since Murali’s departure in July 2010.

Australia ended the series in a fitting way as Australia’s debutants – Lyon, Copeland and Shaun Marsh – played key roles throughout the series. Australia’s next assignment is to take on the world No.2, South Africa in South Africa whereas Sri Lanka will fly to UAE where they will battle against Pakistan.