Rain played a major role in washing out the last two sessions, as only 27 overs were bowled on Day 3, leaving Sri Lanka far behind Australia in the first Test in Galle. The hosts are trailing by 518 runs, with the visitors needing only five more wickets to wrap up the innings.
Sri Lanka managed to add only 23 runs to their overnight score of 44 before losing Kamindu Mendis. He was caught behind down the leg side off Mitchell Starc’s bowling, as Australia struck within the first six overs of the day.
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Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva then joined forces and looked solid in the middle. However, their fifth-wicket stand lasted just 12 overs, as de Silva threw his wicket away by charging down the track, offering an easy stumping for Alex Carey off Matthew Kuhnemann. The partnership ended on 40, with the Skipper departing after getting a start, leaving the hosts at 107/5.
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With 15 minutes left in the morning session, rain interrupted play, forcing an early lunch. Chandimal and Kusal Mendis remained unbeaten as the last recognized batting pair, facing a massive task ahead. Chandimal batted well, holding firm at one end while bringing up his 31st Test fifty.
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Play was scheduled to resume at 2:50 PM after conditions cleared, but rain returned to spoil the action once more. Eventually, the day’s play was called off at 3:32 PM, leaving Sri Lanka with a mountain to climb.
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 136/5 (42) Dinesh Chandimal 63, Dhananjaya de Silva 22, Mitchell Starc 2/13, Matthew Kuhnemann 2/48, Nathan Lyon 1/43
Stumps: Day 3 – Sri Lanka trail by 518 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 | |
