When your senior player gives a knock like that, as captain, it makes things easy for me: Karunaratne

Sri Lankan skipper and opening batter Dimuth Karunaratne heaped praise on veteran Dinesh Chandimal's double century and said that it was an excellent sign for Sri Lankan cricket ahead of a more demanding challenge that awaits them as they gear up to face Pakistan.

Sri Lanka secured a thumping win over the Australians that helped them level the series 1-1. The hosts defeated the Aussies by a considerable margin of an innings and 39 runs in the second Test at Galle.

Debutant spinner Prabath Jayasuriya was the match's star with the ball in hand as he recorded the fourth-best figures on debut. Jayasuriya took a match haul of twelve wickets to bundle out the visitors for a paltry 151 in the final session of day four. He recorded match figures of 12-177.

But it was Chandimal who set up victory with a batting assault to reach his maiden double ton with four and two sixes off Mitchell Starc as Sri Lanka posted 554 in their first innings.

Earlier, Sri Lanka were batting at 9-505 as Australia were mentally preparing to bat when the Chandimal storm hit them- the ninth wicket was the trigger for Chandimal to explode as throughout the next four overs, he went from 159 off 298 balls to 202 off just 18 more deliveries, which included back to back sixes off Mitchell Starc. 

It was the first Test double century scored against Australia since Alastair Cook's 244* at the MCG in December 2017. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's 554 surpassed the nation's previous best Test total against Australia of 8-547 in 1992.

Talking about Chandimal's historic knock, the skipper said, "I told Chandi to come up with a big knock. Last few years, he was not very successful," Karunaratne said of his senior batsman, who has been in and out of the national side.

"When your senior player gives a knock like that, as captain, it makes things easy for me. Angelo (Mathews) can fail, I can fail, but I know that someone will fire for us. That's a good sign for the series that's ahead,"

Sri Lanka will next host Pakistan, who have already landed and are playing a practice game, in preparation for the two-Test series that begins on Saturday at Galle.

Even though Sri Lanka's big win over Australia gives them a big confidence booster, Chandimal said that Pakistan would be a more potent force to reckon with, as they understand playing spin in a much better way.

"Pakistan is a strong side, a brilliant team," said Karunaratne. "I think it will be more challenging than Australia. They play spin well," he concluded.

Skipper Babar Azam has scored consistently in top form, including a 196 against Australia at home in March.

Opener Imam-ul-Haq has also been among the runs, and Pakistan have bolstered their bowling attack by bringing veteran spinner Yasir Shah back into the team.