Sri Lanka resumed their fourth innings chase of 379 in Galle at 5/120, and Michael Clarke's concerns were probably more about the weather than Sri Lanka's chase. However, an early rain disruption didn't last too long and the Australian captain's eyes were soon being distracted more by the scoreboard than the clouds. The 52 run partnership that Angelo Matthews and Mahela Jayawardene took into day four quickly became the highest of the match, and then the first century stand of the match, and still the Aussies looked unlikely to break through. When Sri Lanka made it to lunch at 5/187, Michael Clarke may not have been so hungry as he pondered some of the second digs that had thwarted Australia in recent years.
In the afternoon session, Australia took the new ball, but it didn't stop Jayawardene reaching his century, a superb effort in the context of the game, or Sri Lanka reaching 200. Finally, at 5/210 Australian nerves were calmed when Ryan Harris, clearly the pick of the Australian bowlers in the second innings, had one cut back in on Jayawardene, and his inside edge aided the ball on to the stumps. Following his dismissal, the end came fairly quickly. Harris finished with five, Mitchell Johnson picked up a second, Shane Watson denied Matthews a deserved century and new boy Nathan Lyon claimed the last wicket for his first of the innings. Ultimately, Sri Lanka finished 125 runs behind, a margin comfortable enough to keep the Australian selectors from making any changes to the bowling line-up (Ricky Ponting will miss the second Test to fly home for the birth of his second child.)
However, it probably won't go unnoticed that Copeland wasn't able to take another wicket after his second ball dismissal of Dilshan, or that Lyon didn't remove another top six batsman after his first ball dismissal of Sangakkara. Shane Watson may not have had a great match with his bat, but his bowling made a significant impact on the result. He finished with match figures of 5/30 from 19 overs - perhaps underbowled - and none of his dismissals were tail-enders. Shaun Marsh will likely come in for Ponting, and David Warner has been sent to Sri Lanka to provide additional coverage.
For Sri Lanka, they will take some heart from the fightback on the last day, but more will be needed from the likes of Dilshan and Sangakkara if they are to push Australia in this series. They only had one partnership reach 50 in the match, and they will need a batting performance more in line with the consistency shown by their bowlers in the next two Tests.
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