SPIN once again proved too much for Australia's batsmen in the first Test against Sri Lanka last night, with more misery staring the tourists in the face next week.
Veteran spinner Rangana Herath claimed 5-54 and match figures of 9-103 to roll Australia for 161 before tea on the fifth day of play.
Herath and debutant spinner Lakshan Sandakan dominated in the home side's 106-run win, taking 16 wickets between them. Left-arm wrist-spinner Sandakan baffled Australia's batsmen, while 21-year-old Kusal Mendis set the game up for the home side with a -brilliant second-innings knock of 176. 
The tourists now face the daunting prospect of Thursday's second Test in Galle being staged on a raging turner.
Steve O'Keefe, the spin bowler ruled out of the Galle Test because of a hamstring injury, limped out to bat yesterday with Australia at 8-157. Herath bowled with seven close-in catchers to O'Keefe, who was understandably -reluctant to sprint for any singles.
O'Keefe appeared to be caught at bat-pad off the bowling of off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva, but umpire Richard Kettleborough said it was pad only and Sri Lanka had no -reviews left in the 79th over.
Kettleborough gave O'Keefe out lbw three overs later against the bowling of Herath, but the batsman called for a review which showed an inside edge. Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill shared a ninth-wicket stand of four runs with O'Keefe in 178 balls at a run-rate of 0.13, before Nevill was out caught behind. It's the lowest scoring rate in a partnership in Test history, with a minimum of 100 deliveries.
Herath fittingly claimed the final wicket, bowling O'Keefe for four. Australia lost 4-58 in the first session yesterday, including 3-2 off 18 balls, after resuming on 3-83.
Both camps had identified the fourth-wicket partnership between Steve Smith and Adam Voges as crucial to the match result. Voges shook his head in anger after losing his wicket in the eighth over of the day.
He clipped a return catch to Herath, but the Sri Lankans offered only lukewarm appeals. A video review by the third umpire, requested by the two on-field umpires, found it was not a bump-ball off the bat and Herath had scooped the ball up cleanly.
Mitch Marsh (25) was beaten by Herath who made one skid on and hit the front pad. Smith was given out caught behind by Kettleborough off the bowling of Sandakan, in the over following Marsh's exit. But Smith's bat was nowhere near the ball and the skipper successfully reviewed the decision.
Smith only lasted until Herath's next over however, falling LBW to the little master for 55. Sandakan dismissed tailenders Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon to leave Australia at 8-157, before Nevill and O'Keefe dug in for a long stand but to no avail in the end.
FIRST TEST SRI LANKA V AUSTRALIA
day five, kandy SRI LANKA first innings 117 AUSTRALIA first innings 203 SRI LANKA second innings 353 AUSTRALIA second innings J BURNS b Sandakan ..................29 D WARNER b Herath ....................1 U KHAWAJA lbw D Perera "..........18 S SMITH lbw Herath ...................55 A VOGES c & b Herath ...............12 M MARSH lbw Herath .................25 P NEVILL c Chandimal b de Silva ..9 M STARC c & b Sandakan .............0 N LYON lbw Sandakan ..................8 S O'KEEFE b Herath ......................4 J HAZLEWOOD not out .................0 Sundries ........................................0 TOTAL161 Fall: 2 (Warner), 33 (Khawaja), 63 (Burns), 96 (Voges), 139 (Marsh), 140 (Smith), 141 (Starc), 157 (Lyon), 161 (Nevill), 161 (O'Keefe).
Bowling: N Pradeep 6-3-16-0, R Herath 33.3-16-54-5, D Perera 13-3-30-1, L Sandakan 25-8-49-3, D de Silva 11-7-12-1.
Sri Lanka won by 106 runs.Second Test starts Thursday.