Sri Lanka spinner takes hat-trick as Australia collapse

RANGANA Herath became the oldest bowler to take a Test hat-trick as Australia were dismissed for 106 on day two of the second Test in Galle.

The left-arm spinner, who is 38 years and 139 days old, is the second Sri Lankan to take a Test hat-trick.

Adam Voges, Peter Nevill and Mitchell Starc — after a third-umpire review — fell to Herath in the 25th over.

Herath finished with figures of 4-35 as Australia were bowled out for their lowest Test score against Sri Lanka.

Previously, the oldest man to take a hat-trick was England’s Tom Goddard, who was 38 years and 84 days old when he struck against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1938.

Herath’s hat-trick is the first by a Sri Lanka player in Tests since 1999, when Nuwan Zoysa struck against Zimbabwe with his first three deliveries of the game.

Off-spinner Dilruwan Perera also had a superb day with bat and ball, taking 4-29 in Australia’s first innings and top-scoring with 64 in Sri Lanka’s second innings before falling to left-arm paceman Mitchell Starc (6-50).

Perera then narrowly missed out on a hat-trick after dismissing nightwatchman Nathan Lyon and Usman Khawaja in Australia’s second innings before captain Steve Smith survived the hat-trick ball as the visitors, chasing 413 to win, finished on 25-3 at the end of a remarkable day in which 21 wickets fell.

Only once have two hat-tricks been taken in the same Test, when Australia leg-spinner Jimmy Matthews achieved the feat in each innings against South Africa at Old Trafford in the triangular Test series of 1912. — BBC Sport.