Australia thrash Sri Lanka to seal Test series in Melbourne

Trailing by 304 runs on the first innings, a battered Sri Lanka surrendered for 103 for seven off 24.2 overs with Kumar Sangakkara retiring hurt and out for the rest of the tour.

Prasanna Jayawardene and Chanaka Welegedara were also unable to bat because of injuries.

Australia's rampaging paceman Mitchell Johnson dominated the Test with six wickets and an unbeaten 92. He was a standout man-of-the-match.

“The boys went pretty hard at their batters with the short ball and they didn't like it,” Johnson said.

“The plan through this Test match was to get up their batters and unfortunately for them they got a few injuries out of it — I think that intimidation factor definitely worked out there today.”

It ranks as one of Sri Lanka's biggest Test drubbings, only inferior to their innings defeats to South Africa in Cape Town (2001) and Colombo (1993).

Sri Lanka somehow have to regroup physically and mentally for the third and final dead rubber Test starting in Sydney next Thursday.

Their remote hopes of saving the series in Melbourne went out the door when key batsman Sangakkara retired on 27 after he was struck on the glove by a menacing lifter from Johnson.

Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said Sangakkara would have surgery for a fractured left index finger and would miss the rest of the Test and one-day games in Australia.

He was the second Sri Lankan player to suffer a hand injury in the Boxing Day Test with wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene receiving a hairline thumb fracture when also struck by a Johnson delivery in the first innings.

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