The Galle International Cricket Stadium held a special place in the heart of the late Shane Warne, for it was where he made his international comeback and picked up his 500th Test wicket.
Shane Warne dismissed Hashan Thilakaratne as his 500th victim and incidentally, off a catch from the late Andrew Symonds. Symo was remembered in the 1st T20 match between Sri Lanka and Australia while tomorrow’s match will be a special dedication for the King of Leg Spin.
Looking at the history of this Trophy, it was inaugurated in the 2007/08 season in recognition of the two highest wicket takers of all time in Test Cricket and shortly after the retirement of Warne (Murali was still actively playing at the time).
The series tally since the trophy was awarded-
2007/08 Won by Australia 2-0 (in Australia)
2011 Won by Australia 1-0 (in Sri Lanka)
2012/13 Won by Australia 3-0 (in Australia)
2016 Won by Sri Lanka 3-0 (in Sri Lanka )
2018/19 Won by Australia 2-0 (in Australia)
The last time Sri Lanka won a series was back in 2016, where Kusal Mendis made a brilliant 176 knock and Rangana Herath was the key tormentor and man of the series with a whopping 28 wickets and a match bag of 13 wickets in one. This series was won under Angelo Mathews.
At present, the Australian team is led by the World Number 1 in Test bowling, Pat Cummins while having as many as 4 batters in the ICC Top 10 in Test Batting. They are currently the Number 1 in Test Cricket and will be tested against a Sri Lankan team on their home turf, consisting of many promising youngsters led by ICC No.6 in Batting, Dimuth Karunaratne.
The Galle International Cricket Stadium is one of the most scenic stadiums that serves as a tourism campaign. The Test series, added by a very sentimental value, surrounded by other sensitive matters in a time of a crisis, will be one that will have many eyes internationally.
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