Galle, February 1, 2025 – Australia delivered a dominant performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka, securing a crushing innings and 242-run victory on Saturday. Matthew Kuhnemann was the star of the show, claiming seven wickets on the final day and finishing with nine in total as Australia wrapped up the game in emphatic fashion.
Sri Lanka resumed play on Day 4 with five wickets in hand, but they had no answer to Australia’s relentless bowling attack. Kuhnemann struck early, dismissing Kusal Mendis, who top-edged a delivery to Todd Murphy at square leg. Soon after, Nathan Lyon trapped Dinesh Chandimal lbw, while Prabath Jayasuriya fell for a duck, caught off Kuhnemann.
Lyon continued his onslaught, removing Nishan Peiris with a sharp inside edge that was snapped up by Josh Inglis at short leg. Kuhnemann sealed Sri Lanka’s first innings collapse at 165 all out when Jeffrey Vandersay’s leading edge was caught by Mitchell Starc at cover. With a staggering 489-run deficit, Australia enforced the follow-on.
Sri Lanka’s struggles continued in their second innings. Oshada Fernando fell in the third over, trapped lbw by Starc, while Dimuth Karunaratne’s misjudgment saw him leave a Todd Murphy delivery that crashed into his stumps.
Dinesh Chandimal briefly resisted with 31 runs, but Lyon had him gloving a sharp delivery to short leg. Kamindu Mendis followed soon after, holing out to Starc at deep midwicket, while Angelo Mathews was caught at short leg off Lyon.
Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva, after showing promise, edged Kuhnemann to cover, before Lyon removed Kusal Mendis and Jayasuriya in quick succession. Kuhnemann wrapped up the match by bowling Peiris, before Vandersay was caught once again by Starc, sealing Sri Lanka’s fate.
Australia’s emphatic innings victory puts them in a commanding position ahead of the second and final Test. With momentum firmly on their side, they will look to secure a series sweep, while Sri Lanka will need a remarkable turnaround to salvage pride. Usman Khawaja was declared man of the match scoring double century in the first innings.
