COLOMBO, March 28: Hashan Tillekeratne on Sunday stepped down as Sri Lanka's captain after the hosts suffered their first whitewash in a home Test series here. Sri Lanka lost the three-Test series 3-0 following their 121-run defeat in the third and final match.
"I am stepping down as captain. It is high time someone else took over," said Tillekeratne, 36. He was under pressure to retain the captaincy after his team's defeat in the first two matches against Ricky Ponting's Australians at Galle and Kandy.
"I don't want to block somebody's chances to lead Sri Lanka. I have had ups and downs as captain and I enjoyed my stint," said Tillekeratne, who led his team to just one win in 10 Tests. "I want to concentrate on my batting. I will be available as a batsman," he said.
Australia won all the three matches after conceding first-innings leads. On the field, Shane Warne grabbed four wickets in a sensational display of spin bowling as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 248 with just 15 balls remaining in the dramatic last session while chasing a 370-run target.
The hosts looked set to prevent an Australian sweep when they were placed at 156-2 midway through the afternoon session, with Thilan Samaraweera (53) and Mahela Jayawardene (37) batting defiantly. But Warne changed the course of the match, taking four scalps for 26 runs off 13 overs in the last session which saw the hosts lose six wickets for 62 runs.
He was brilliantly supported by part-time left-arm spinner Darren Lehmann, who lived up to his reputation of breaking stubborn partnerships to finish with 3-42. Warne finished the series with 26 wickets to take his tally to 517, behind only retired West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh's world record of 519.
His hopes of breaking the record in this match had disappeared after Lehmann's triple-strike. Warne, who had taken 513 scalps, needed seven in the second innings but his first wicket came after Sri Lanka had lost four batsmen.
He, however, still had the last laugh. It became a pressure game in the last session as Warne bowled with as many as four fielders close to the bat on a turning track and appealing passionately whenever the ball rapped on the pads.
Australia took the new ball in a last-ditch attempt to wrap up the innings and fast bowler Jason Gillespie soon struck, trapping Tillekeratne (17) leg-before.
Gillespie bowled just two overs before being replaced with Warne, who turned even the new ball to dismiss tail-enders Nuwan Zoysa and Chaminda Vaas. Fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz then gave the finishing touches when he trapped Rangana Herath leg-before, triggering celebrations in the team.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 401 (D.S. Lehmann 153, R.T. Ponting 92; M. Muralitharan 5-123).
SRI LANKA (1st Innings) 407 (M.S. Atapattu 118, H.P. Tillekeratne 74 not out, S.T. Jayasuriya 71).
