Sri Lanka spin wizards eager to wreak havoc

Australia's Kandy crusher Rangana Herath is expecting a fierce Australian fightback in Galle, but is tipping mystery spinner Lakshan Sandakan to wreak more havoc on the tourists' batting this week.

A quarter of veteran Sri Lanka spin wizard Herath's 313 Test wickets have come at the Galle International Stadium in the south-western coastal city – some 78 scalps at the average of 24.32 and a miserly 2.64 runs per over.

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But the debut performance of Sandakan, who took seven wickets in his first Test, has Herath excited about the prospect of inflicting a series defeat on the current world No.1-ranked team.

"I have a very good record in Galle, but I have to start from scratch when the game gets underway on Thursday and stick to my basics," Herath told Sri Lanka's The Island newspaper this week.

"I have to work hard and if I have a good game, the team will do well too. It will be a tough Test match and we are expecting Australia to come hard at us.

"Beating the No.1 team is always special. It will remain in my memory forever.

"Obviously we beat them after 17 years. Before this, I had played in eight games against Australia without winning any."

And if Herath's record wasn't worrisome enough for Steve Smith's men, the emergence of debutant left-arm wrist-spin bowler Lakshan Sandakan has created a new set of headaches for the tourists.

"As a chinaman bowler, Sandakan has impressed everyone with his control," Herath said.

"When you have such control, you can be devastating.

"Not only can he bowl at one spot, he can also bowl the googly.

"Then more than anything, he gets turn. That’s the complete package you expect from a spin bowler. He has them all."

The worry for Sri Lanka, however, is their batting, after they were bowled out for 117 in the first innings at Pallakele.

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That followed disastrous capitulations by Sri Lanka's batsmen on their winless tour of the British Isles, but Herath believes the side has turned the corner – particularly after the breakout century by Kusal Mendis.

"We were disappointed with the effort with the bat. If you take the first two Tests in England, we were dismissed for less than 150," said Herath.

"Then the batsmen put up a good show in the second innings at Durham. We were alright at Lord’s but were back to square one at Pallekele in the first innings. We have to put up a better show.

"Young Kusal Mendis was unbelievable in the second innings and there were other noteworthy contributions from Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva.

"But it was Kusal who took all the responsibility His shot making was absolutely spot-on. He has a very clear mind and knows what to do and what not to do."

Herath, at 38, was a veritable whippersnapper 17 years ago when Sri Lanka last beat Australia, by six wickets at Kandy's Asgiriya Stadium.

"The last time we beat them was in 1999, I was in the squad on that occasion. I was only 21 then and although I didn’t play that game at Asgiriya I remember it very well. It was our first win against Australia," Herath said.

"That side had loads of experience. Sanath (Jayasuriya) was captain and then we had guys like Arjuna (Ranatunga), Aravinda (de Silva), Murali and (Chaminda) Vaas.

"They knew how to beat a top side like Australia.

"If you take the present side, we have very little experience.

"We were down and out in the last few months. We had some very poor performances, but we tried really hard

"As captain, Angelo (Mathews) had got a lot of stick as we struggled.

"But we were together and we are pleased with what we have achieved. I knew it was just a matter of time before we turned a corner."