Herath ready to wreak havoc on Aussies in spin-friendly Galle

Melbourne, Aug.3 (ANI): After taking a one-nil lead in the three-match Test series against Australia, Sri Lankan left-arm spinner Rangana Herath has said that he is all set to torment the world's number one team once again in the crucial second match, which starts in Galle on Thursday. Herath finished with nine wickets overall during Lanka's crushing 106-run win over the Steve Smith-led side in the opening Test at Pallekele and it is expected, that he could wreak more havoc on the Australian batting line-up in Galle, which is the most spin friendly track of the country. Admitting that he has a good record in Galle, the 38-year-old said that his strategy is nothing but to stick to his basics in the second match, where a victory could see the Angelo Mathews-led side seal their first series win over Australia in 17 years. "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," Herath was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. "Obviously we beat them after 17 years. Before this, I had played in eight games against Australia without winning any," he added. Of Herath's 313 Test wickets, 78 scalps have come in Galle at the average of 24.32 and a miserly 2.64 runs per over. Besides Herath, spinner Lakshan Sandakan also did manage to impress by bagging seven wickets on his debut in the first Test. Lavishing praise on Sandakan, Herath said the emergence of debutant left-arm wrist-spin bowler has piled further misery on the visitors. "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," he added. (ANI)