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Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Sri Lanka target rare series whitewash

Match facts

August 13-17, 2016
Start time 10.00 local (04.30 GMT)

Big Picture

Like a villain in Peter Falk's old detective show, Australia's undoing could be completed by one more thing: Colombo. Crushed near Kandy, gutted in Galle, Steven Smith's men now move on to the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground for the final Test of their tour. Their No.1 ranking is at stake although, having lost the series already, even a surprise win in the third Test might not be enough to save their position.

Make no mistake: this is Sri Lanka's chance to create history. That rarest of cricket achievements - a whitewash against Australia - is theirs for the taking. In nearly 140 years of Test cricket, Australia have played 177 series of three or more matches and only four times have they been whitewashed: 0-3 to England in 1886; 0-4 to South Africa in 1969-70; 0-3 to Pakistan in 1982-83; and 0-4 to India in 2012-13. Smith arrived on this tour never having lost a Test as captain. Now he is in danger of joining Tup Scott, Bill Lawry, Kim Hughes and Michael Clarke in sharing an unwanted page in the record books.

The achievement is similarly rare for Sri Lanka who, prior to this campaign, have played 50 series of this length. Only three times have they swept teams 3-0, and two of those came against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The other was against a declining West Indies in 2001. To complete such a rout against Australia, who were presented with the ICC mace before this series began, would count as one of the finest achievements in Sri Lankan cricket history. Angelo Mathews could be on the verge of joining Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene as the only Sri Lanka captains to lead such 3-0 sweeps.

Of course, such talk is getting ahead of proceedings. Australia have one more chance to defend their honour. They would, though, need to show vast improvement in both playing and bowling spin in order to turn their results around, and none of the evidence from the first two Tests suggests that is probable. Having lost their past eight Tests in Asia, Australia have moved on to their ninth life. Chances are that when they head to India next February the cat will be dead, and unlikely even to bounce.

Form guide

Sri Lanka: WWDLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Australia: LLWWD

In the spotlight

Nominally it is spin that has troubled Australia during this series, but often their problem has been the ones that don't turn. Between them, Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera have served up more sliders than a hipster café. Perera has 11 wickets at 15.63 in this series and, remarkably, 10 of them came in Galle, where he became the first Sri Lankan to score a fifty and take 10 wickets in a Test. Also during that match he became the fastest Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 50 Test wickets, getting there in his 11th Test. Between Perera, Herath and left-arm wrist-spinner Lakshan Sandakan, Australia's batsmen can expect no let-up in Colombo.

Australia have played two spinners in each of the Tests so far, yet it is Mitchell Starc who comfortably leads their wicket tally with 17 at 13.47. Starc's speed, accuracy and ability to gain reverse swing have made him a weapon on these Sri Lankan pitches. Australia's batting has been their major issue, but with a little more assistance from the spinners Starc might at least make a contest of it. His 11 for 94 in Galle were the best figures ever by an Australian in Sri Lanka, and the best by an Australian fast bowler in Asia since the 1970s.

Team news

Dimuth Karunaratne's poor run of form - he has scores of 5, 0, 0 and 7 this series - could leave his place in jeopardy, although as the SSC is his home ground and the series is already won, the selectors might give him one more chance. If Karunaratne is dropped, a possible scenario is that Dhananjaya de Silva could move up to open and Roshen Silva slot into the middle order. Suranga Lakmal is set to play his first Test of the series, in place of Vishwa Fernando, who was required for only two overs on debut due to Sri Lanka's spin strength.

Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Kusal Perera, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Lakshan Sandakan, 11 Suranga Lakmal.

Shaun Marsh appears a likely inclusion for Australia, though whom he replaces is up for debate. Adam Voges has carried hamstring tightness but trained fully on Thursday, although a decision on whether Voges would play in Colombo was not going to be made until after training on Friday. If Voges is passed fit, it is not out of the question that Usman Khawaja could make way for Marsh. An unchanged attack is probable, given the likely need for two spinners again.

Australia (possible) 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja/Shaun Marsh, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Nathan Lyon, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Jon Holland.

Pitch and conditions

The SSC pitch might have a reputation as a draw wicket, but that is based on old evidence. In 2014, the top layer was re-laid and the surface has had a little more character. Since then three Tests have been played there for two results and a rain-affected draw. The pitch this year will be dry and is expected to provide plenty of turn.

Stats and trivia

  • Sri Lanka's pace bowlers have sent down only 30 overs in this series, compared to 221.2 overs from their spinners

  • In the past decade, Australia have played 17 Tests in Asia for just a single win: against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2011

  • So far in this series, Australia's batsmen have collectively averaged 16.32. By comparison, in the UAE against Pakistan in 2014, Australia averaged 25.65 and in India in 2013 it was 25.89

Quotes

"We've got to prove to ourselves that we can play in these conditions. To win the last Test match, that will give us a little bit of confidence. We're going to hopefully play with a little bit more freedom and courage, and be willing to take the game on."
Australia captain Steven Smith

Hat-trick of whitewashes

3

Consecutive Test series for Australia in Asia where have been whitewashed - 4-0 by India 2012-13, 2-0 by Pakistan 2014-15 and 3-0 by Sri Lanka 2016.

One each

6

No. of 10-wicket hauls for Herath in Tests - each one has come against different teams, including Aus. Only Muralitharan has taken such hauls against more teams (9).

Middle order collapse

22

Runs added by Australia's No. 3, 4, 5 & 6 combined in this innings - their lowest in a Test inns vs SL. Previous lowest: 25 in Kandy 2004-05.

Herath's highest

23

Previous most wickets by Herath in a Test series - against Pakistan in 2014 (in 2 matches). Mitchell Marsh was his 24th wicket of this series.

Solid start at last

56

Aggregate of the 11 opening partnerships of this series, before this inns. Warner-Marsh have added more than that in this last opening stand of the series.

Out of Australia's hands?

307

Highest successful chase by Australia in Tests in Asia, against B'desh in Fatullah in 2006. The highest successful chase at SSC by any visiting team is 131.

The first

0

No. of SL players who scored a century and fifty in the same Test batting at No. 7 or lower, before this. Dhananjaya de Silva becomes the first SL player to do so.

Sixth-wicket show

298

Previous most runs by a team's sixth-wicket in a Test vs Australia, by India at Wankhede 1986-87. Sri Lanka's 6th wicket has added over 300 runs in this match.

Resistance from bottom

8

No. of 50+ partnerships for wickets 5 and lower in this series for Sri Lanka - joint-most for them in any series. Their first 4 wickets have had only 2 50+ stands.

Silva finds form

18

Runs scored by Kaushal Silva in the first 5 inns of this series. He opened in all those inns, but came at No. 3 in this inns and has made a fifty.

Starc's series

23

Previous most wickets by a visiting fast bowler in a Test series in Sri Lanka, by Richard Hadlee in 1983-84. Starc dismissed Mendis as his 24th wkt of this series.

Decent start at last

12

Average score at which Sri Lanka lost their second-wicket in this series, before this second inns. Their second wicket fell at 44 in this inns.