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Kuhnemann takes five as Sri Lanka fold for 165, Australia enforce follow-on
Australia’s mood brightened considerably under clear skies in Galle as they resumed their complete dominance of the first Test with spinners Matthew Kunhnemann and Nathan Lyon running through a hapless Sri Lanka early on day four.
Sri Lanka lost 5 for 9 to be bowled out for 165 in their first innings just 45 minutes into the day’s play. With a lead of 489 runs and with his bowlers well rested, stand-in captain Steven Smith as expected decided to enforce the follow-on.
Kuhnemann celebrated his first Test match in almost two years with three wickets in the morning session to finish with 5 for 63, while Lyon took 3-57.
Sri Lanka’s dismal performance in this match continued with only Dinesh Chandimal offering resistance with a classy 72 and they will have to muster a much-improved effort in their second-innings to save the Test.
After the final two sessions on day three were washed out, Australia’s nerves were heightened with rain forecast in the afternoon.
Resuming at 136 for 5, Sri Lanka found themselves with unexpected hope of surviving with a draw due to the wet weather. But they desperately needed Chandimal to kick on having compiled an attractive half-century on day three.
The pressure was on Chandimal and wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis as the last recognised batters before the tail.
Smith deployed spinners Kuhnemann and Lyon from the get-go as Chandimal unfurled the reverse sweep which he had used to good effect on the truncated day three.
It was a cautious start from Sri Lanka’s batters with Kuhnemann extracting awkward bounce that occasionally reared off the surface. Mendis went to his favoured sweep shot against Kuhnemann and he whacked a boundary to raise Sri Lanka’s 150.
But Australia were well prepared with their tactics and baited Mendis into the sweep shot with two fielders positioned deep square of the wicket. Mendis couldn’t contain himself and top-edged a sweep to be well caught by a running Todd Murphy at square leg.
The burden fell to Chandimal, who had been unable to recapture his fluency from earlier in the innings. His rearguard finally ended when he missed a reverse sweep to fall lbw to Lyon as he reviewed in vain.
Sri Lanka’s tail folded quickly with Kuhnemann claiming his second five-wicket haul of his Test career.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 165 in 52.2 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 72, de Silva 22, Kusal Mendis 21; Matthew Kuhnemann 5-63, Nathan Lyon 3-57, Mitchell Starc 2-13) trail Australia 654 for 6 dec by 489 runs
[Cricinfo]
Why did David Miller refuse a single off the penultimate delivery with Delhi Capitals needing 2 off 2? It’ll be spoken of for a while, but not inside the Gujarat Titans change room. Because Prasidh Krishna bowled a nerveless slower bouncer off the final delivery that Miller missed, and Jos Buttler then nailed a direct hit with an underarm throw from behind the stumps to run out Kuldeep Yadav, clinching a dramatic first win for GT in IPL 2026.
Despite being adjudged run out on the field, Miller wasn’t in the mood to concede defeat, and reviewed the final ball for a possible wide. But when replays confirmed what he had perhaps known, he was crestfallen. Equally distraught in the dugout was K L Rahul, whose 52-ball 92 set the game up for DC but for one run.
It was GT’s first win of the tournament and the first loss for DC after starting the campaign with two wins in a row.
Thirty-six needed off 12. A bruised finger that didn’t make it easy for him to grip the bat had forced Miller to retire hurt with DC needing 81 off 42. But when Tristan Stubbs was run-out in the 17th over, Miller returned hoping to play second fiddle to Rahul. Instead, he was now expected to deliver a box-office hit with Rahul nicking behind off a full Mohammed Siraj delivery two balls later.
Miller nearly delivered what was expected, as he went 6, 4, 6 off Siraj, repeatedly peppering the short leg-side boundary. At the other end, Vipraj Nigam also ramped four off a short delivery to bring the equation down to a manageable 13 off the final over.
Prasidh was tasked to bowl the final over. His three overs prior to that had been walloped for 41; Rahul, his state mate, had climbed into him earlier in the night. But all that would’ve been forgiven if Prasidh delivered a gun final over. That GT could only have four fielders out due to a slow over rate added to his challenge. And he nearly succumbed.
Nigam made room and swung cleanly to hit the first ball to the long-off fence, but a rush of blood had him swipe the second delivery to Shubman Gill at mid-off. With DC now needing nine off four, Kuldeep gently deflected his first ball to deep third to leave the chase in Miller’s hands.
With the equation down to 8 off 3, Prasidh bowled a slot-ball that Miller walloped over long-off. But with two needed, Miller inexplicably refused a single to take it all upon himself to finish the deal. He couldn’t connect on the final ball, and Prasidh belted a roar. GT had pulled one from under DC’s rug in dramatic circumstances.
After scores of 1 and 0 in his first two games, Rahul announced himself with a 29-ball half-century that was as pleasing as they come for large parts. It was also one that didn’t have the baggage of him playing run-accumulator, like he has tended to in the past while opening the batting. This Rahul was fun, free and fearless and he helped DC overcome a few roadblocks along the way, like when they lost two wickets in two deliveries to Rashid Khan at the halfway mark.
Rahul was particularly menacing against the fast bowlers, and it began with a wristy flick that he sent way back over deep square off Kagiso Rabada. The early jitters out of the way – if he even had some inkling of them – he batted like a man possessed, fearlessly climbing into length balls from Prasidh over cover, and slapping disdainfully over point.
He is good, but where is the Rashid of old, they asked. Turns out he hadn’t gone anywhere. After he conceded just nine in his first two with DC rampant, he returned to dismiss Nitish Rana in his dramatic third over, the 10th of the innings. Having been given out lbw earlier, only for Rana to overturn the decision through DRS, he was out a few balls later when he miscued a googly to Sai Sudharsan at long-off. This was Rana’s third sub-20 score of the season.
This brought the in-form Sameer Rizvi to the middle, and he lasted all of one delivery as Rashid snuck through his inside-edge with a ripping googly to briefly elicit jitters in the DC camp. This is when Miller entered, before briefly exiting with seven overs left. But in the same over, when Rashid had Axar Patel slice one to Glenn Phillips running back from cover, GT started to have an opening.
On any other night, Rashid’s spell would have cracked open the game. The fact that DC were still in it despite these wickets was down to Rahul. It needed the skilful Siraj to dismiss him with DC needing 45 off three overs. By then, the pressure was telling.
That GT were eventually able to get over the line was down to their run cushion, made possible thanks to half-centuries from Jos Buttler, Gill and Washington Sundar. Buttler looked unshackled, hitting four sixes off his first 15 deliveries en route a bruising half-century, while Gill played himself in and then allayed fears of neck spasms during his takedown of Kuldeep with the slog sweep. Then Washington, promoted to No. 4, struck his maiden IPL fifty to shore up the innings.
Even so, GT managed just 49 off the last five. On another day, this may have proved to be costly. It didn’t on Wednesday, and for that, they have Rashid to thank.
Brief scores:
Gujarat Titans 210 for 4 in 20 overs (Sai Sudarshan 12, Shubman Gill 70, Jos Buttler 52, Washington Sundar 55, Glenn Phillips 14*; Mukesh Kumar 2-55, Lungi Ngidi 1-24, Kuldeep Yadav 1-42 ) beat Delhi Capitals 209 for 8 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 41, KL Rahul 92, David Miller 41*, Vipraj Nigam 12; Mohammed Siraj 1-42, Rashid Khan 3-17, Prasidh Krishna 2-52) by one run
[Cricinfo]
Greece has announced plans to ban access to social media for under-15s, becoming the latest European country to restrict children’s exposure to online platforms.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the move was aimed at tackling rising anxiety and sleep problems among young people, as well as what he described as the “addictive design” of social media.
The restriction will come into force from January of next year.
In December Australia became the first country in the world to require TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and other top sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, or face heavy fines. France, Austria and Spain are among a growing number of nations pursuing similar curbs.
The UK government has launched a consultation on whether to implement a ban for under-16s, while Ireland and Denmark are considering similar measures.
Social media companies argue that blanket bans will be ineffective, difficult to enforce and could isolate vulnerable teenagers. Reddit is challenging Australia’s law in court.
In a video message posted on TikTok on Wednesday, Mitsotakis said: “Many young people tell me they feel exhausted from comparisons, from comments, from the pressure to always be online.”
(BBC)
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