Australia tightened their grip on the match as Sri Lanka ended Day 2 (January 30) of the first Test in Galle, still trailing by over 600 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Facing a tough challenge against the new ball later in the day, Sri Lankan openers failed to hold firm. It took just two overs for Australia to strike as Matthew Kuhnemann trapped Oshada Fernando LBW, with the batter losing his review.
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Mitchell Starc then found Dimuth Karunaratne’s outside edge, with substitute Nathan McSweeney holding onto the catch at gully on the second attempt, leaving the hosts reeling at 15/2. Things got worse when veteran Angelo Mathews fell to an exceptional catch from Travis Head off Nathan Lyon’s bowling.
Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis survived until stumps as a light drizzle brought an early end to the day’s play, with Sri Lanka struggling at 44/3—still 410 runs away from avoiding the follow-on.
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Earlier, Australia resumed Day 2 at 330/2, with Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith continuing to pile on Sri Lanka’s misery. The duo extended their third-wicket stand to 266—their highest in Sri Lanka—before Jeffrey Vandersay finally broke the partnership, trapping Smith LBW on review for a well-made 141.
Debutant Josh Inglis then joined Khawaja, keeping the scoreboard ticking at a healthy run rate. In the meantime, Khawaja brought up his maiden Test double century, further mounting the pressure on the hosts. The duo added 146 runs as Australia edged closer to the 550 mark. Prabath Jayasuriya provided a massive breakthrough, dismissing Khawaja for a brilliant 232, studded with 16 fours and a six.
Inglis, after reaching his fifty at nearly a run-a-ball, accelerated to a strike rate over 100. The right-hander became the 21st Australian to score a century on Test debut, reaching the milestone in just 90 balls. However, he fell the very next over, with Jayasuriya picking up his third wicket, leaving Australia at 570/5.
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Alex Carey and Beau Webster put together a handy half-century stand before Starc’s quickfire runs took Australia past 650. The visitors eventually declared, with Carey unbeaten on 46—their highest total in Asia.
Sri Lanka had to toil hard for their wickets, using just four bowlers. In the end, Vandersay and Jayasuriya were the only wicket-takers, claiming three each.
Brief Scores:
Australia 654/6d (154) Usman Khawaja 232, Steve Smith 141, Josh Inglis 102, Travis Head 57, Alex Carey 46*, Jeffrey Vandersay 3/182, Prabath Jayasuriya 3/193
Sri Lanka 44/3 (15) Kamindu Mendis 13*, Nathan Lyon 1/7, Mitchell Starc 1/10, Matthew Kuhnemann 1/26
Stumps: Day 2 – Sri Lanka trail by 610 runs.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usman Khawaja | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 232 | 352 | 16 | 1 | 65.91 |
| Travis Head | c Dinesh Chandimal b Prabath Jayasuriya | 57 | 40 | 10 | 1 | 142.50 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Jeffery Vandersay | 20 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Steve Smith | lbw b Jeffery Vandersay | 141 | 251 | 12 | 2 | 56.18 |
| Josh Inglis | c Kamindu Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 102 | 94 | 10 | 1 | 108.51 |
| Alex Carey | not out | 46 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Beau Webster | c Kamindu Mendis b Jeffery Vandersay | 23 | 50 | 1 | 0 | 46.00 |
| Mitchell Starc | not out | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 14 (b 2 , lb 11 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 654/6 (154 Overs, RR: 4.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 15 | 1 | 77 | 0 | 5.13 | |
| Nishan Peiris | 41 | 1 | 189 | 0 | 4.61 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 60 | 8 | 193 | 3 | 3.22 | |
| Jeffery Vandersay | 38 | 0 | 182 | 3 | 4.79 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Croospulle | lbw b Matthew Kuhemann | 7 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 70.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c McSweeney b Mitchell Starc | 7 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 53.85 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | lbw b Nathan Lyon | 72 | 139 | 9 | 0 | 51.80 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Travis Head b Nathan Lyon | 7 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 38.89 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Alex Carey b Mitchell Starc | 15 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 39.47 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | st Matthew Kuhemann b Alex Carey | 22 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 64.71 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Todd Murphy b Matthew Kuhemann | 21 | 40 | 1 | 1 | 52.50 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | st Alex Carey b Matthew Kuhemann | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffery Vandersay | c Mitchell Starc b Matthew Kuhemann | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Nishan Peiris | c Josh Inglis b Nathan Lyon | 5 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 5 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 1, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 165/10 (52.2 Overs, RR: 3.15) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 8 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 1.62 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 18.2 | 3 | 63 | 5 | 3.46 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 20 | 3 | 57 | 3 | 2.85 | |
| Todd Murphy | 6 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 4.67 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Croospulle | lbw b Mitchell Starc | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | b Todd Murphy | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Travis Head b Nathan Lyon | 31 | 49 | 3 | 0 | 63.27 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Travis Head b Nathan Lyon | 41 | 59 | 6 | 0 | 69.49 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Mitchell Starc b Matthew Kuhemann | 32 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 123.08 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Beau Webster b Matthew Kuhemann | 39 | 50 | 8 | 0 | 78.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | st Alex Carey b Nathan Lyon | 34 | 47 | 4 | 0 | 72.34 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | b Nathan Lyon | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Jeffery Vandersay | c Mitchell Starc b Matthew Kuhemann | 53 | 47 | 7 | 2 | 112.77 |
| Nishan Peiris | b Matthew Kuhemann | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 6 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 33.33 |
| Extras | 4 (b 0 , lb 4 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 247/10 (54.3 Overs, RR: 4.53) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 5 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 2.20 | |
| Todd Murphy | 11 | 0 | 57 | 1 | 5.18 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 17.3 | 2 | 86 | 4 | 4.97 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 19 | 4 | 78 | 4 | 4.11 | |
| Travis Head | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.00 | |
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