On this day in 1999: Sri Lanka register their maiden Test victory against AUS

While a young Sri Lankan team is preparing for an epic finale against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final on the 11th of September in Dubai, the week is of great significance for the islanders as it was on this day that the Lankans registered their first win against Australia in Test cricket in 1999.

A Sri Lankan team, led by explosive opener Sanath Jayasuriya, welcomed the mighty Australians in Kandy for the first Test match of the series. Steve Waugh won the toss and opted to bat first on a fairly tricky surface that was expected to deteriorate rapidly.

The visitors were on the backfoot instantly as they lost both their openers without opening the scores in the first two overs of the match. Things got progressively worse for them as they were reduced to 60/7 before a young Ricky Ponting battled with a knock of 96 runs to take Australia to 188 in their first innings. Muthiah Muralidaran snared four wickets on a turning track.

The hosts, in their reply, were bundled out for a score of 234 runs as the inspirational Shane Warne registered a magnificent five-wicket haul in the second innings of the match. The Islanders had a vital 46-run lead in what was turning out to be a low-scoring Test match.

Australia made a better start to their second innings and the openers looked more settled this time around before a menacing Muralidaran made light work of both the batters. The visitors never recovered from those early blows and barring a half-century from the hero of the first innings, Ponting, everybody looked clueless on the surface.

The Aussies succumbed to another low score, registering just 140 runs, setting a target of 95 runs to chase for the islanders in the fourth innings of the series opener. The hosts stumbled early in the chase but got over the line eventually with six wickets to spare. The result went into the folklore of Sri Lankan cricket as they managed to defeat Australia for the first time in red-ball cricket, since facing them for the first time 16 and half years ago.