Mitchel starc

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1st Test: Lyon And Kuhnemann Spin Australia To Innings & 242 Runs Victory Over Sri Lanka

By IANS News February 01, 2025 • 16:30 PM View: 440

Spinners Nathan Lyon: Spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann shared the spoils as defending WTC champions Australia registered a massive win against Sri Lanka by an innings and 242 runs on Day Four of the first Test at the Galle Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The loss was the hosts' worst-ever defeat in Test cricket, with their previous biggest being when they were hammered by an innings and 239 runs by India in 2017.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, the team from Down Under, on the backs of a magnificent double century by Usman Khawaja and centuries by Steve Smith and Josh Inglis, went on to score 654 before declaring their innings.

Making full use of the spinning tracks of the subcontinent, the Aussies tore through the Sri Lankan batting unit. Dinesh Chandimal was the only batter to show any form of resistance as he scored 72 runs before being dismissed by the veteran Lyon. Mitchel Starc (2-13), Matthew Kuhnemann (5-63), and Lyon (3-57) tore through the hosts’ batting lineup for a mere score of 165 and hereby enforcing the follow-on.