Cricket

Smith praises 'near flawless' Australia after Sri Lanka thrashing

February 2, 2025 4:25 pm

[Source: Reuters]

Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith hailed his side’s resounding innings and 242-run victory over Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday as “near flawless” after the visitors retained the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy.

The Australians were not required to bat again after posting a mammoth 654-6 in the first innings to record the nation’s largest-ever win in Asia in the first match of the teams’ two-test series.

Opener Usman Khawaja hit 232 runs while Smith and Josh Inglis also scored centuries before spins bowlers Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon took 16 wickets between them over two innings after the Sri Lankans were forced to follow on.

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Australia and Sri Lanka face off again in the second and final test in Colombo from Thursday with Sri Lankan coach Sanath Jayasuriya ruing his side’s performance in the field in the opening innings.