Australia secured a 2-0 victory in the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy after comfortably chasing down a modest target in Sri Lanka. Marnus Labuschagne’s contribution helped seal a nine-wicket win on the fourth day, marking Australia’s first Test series clean-sweep in Asia in 19 years, since a 2-0 win over Bangladesh in 2006. The triumph in Galle also represented Australia’s first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2011.
Chasing down 75 runs, Australia experienced an early setback with the dismissal of Travis Head for 20 runs. However, a solid partnership between Usman Khawaja and Labuschagne ensured the team crossed the finish line. Khawaja ended the match unbeaten on 27, while Labuschagne supported him with 26 not out.
In the bowling department, Nathan Lyon claimed four wickets and was supported by Matt Kuhnemann, who also stood out with four wickets. Steve Smith recorded his 200th Test catch, a milestone as the first Australian fielder to achieve this feat outside of wicketkeepers.
Alex Carey was recognised as player of the match for his impressive innings of 156, which includes the highest score by an Australian wicketkeeper in Asia, while Smith received the player of the series award, accumulating 272 runs with an average of 136, along with effective captaincy.