Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis scored hard-fought half-centuries, taking Sri Lanka to 229/9 at stumps on the opening day (6th February) of the second Test against Australia in Galle.
Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva elected to bat first after winning the crucial toss. They made three changes, with Pathum Nissanka returning from injury to replace Oshada Fernando. Ramesh Mendis also returned to the side, while Jeffrey Vandersay had to sit out. Lahiru Kumara was included as a like-for-like replacement for Asitha Fernando.
Australia made a solitary change, handing a debut to 21-year-old all-rounder Cooper Connolly from Perth, who became their 471st Test cricketer. Todd Murphy was left out of the team.
Playing XI:
Australia: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon.
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lahiru Kumara.
Dimuth Karunaratne became the seventh Sri Lankan to reach the milestone of 100 Test matches, receiving his cap from head coach Sanath Jayasuriya. Walking out for his final Test appearance, he was given a guard of honour by school cricketers, his Test teammates, and members of the Sinhalese Sports Club.
The opening stand between Nissanka and Karunaratne lasted only 7.4 overs, as Nathan Lyon struck in his first over, castling Nissanka’s stumps with the score at 23. Karunaratne then joined Dinesh Chandimal, and the pair built a solid 70-run partnership.
Resuming after lunch at 87/1, Sri Lanka suffered a middle-order collapse, slipping to 127/5. Karunaratne, showing great patience in his farewell Test, fell for 36, cue-ending a ball to leg stump off Lyon. The visitors then seized control with the quick dismissals of Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, and Dhananjaya de Silva.
Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s standout batter from the first Test, once again displayed resilience, bringing up a fighting half-century. However, Matthew Kuhnemann produced a beauty to dismiss Chandimal for 74, leaving Sri Lanka struggling at 150/6.
Kusal Mendis and Ramesh Mendis then provided much-needed resistance, stitching together the highest partnership of the innings—a gritty 75-run stand for the seventh wicket. After taking the second new ball, Mitchell Starc removed Ramesh Mendis for 28 off 94 balls, caught behind. Starc struck again the very next delivery, dismissing Prabath Jayasuriya, before Kuhnemann cleaned up Nishan Peiris, leaving Sri Lanka nine down.
Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis brought up his half-century off 90 balls. With just 3.5 overs left in the day, Lahiru Kumara survived alongside him, ensuring Sri Lanka ended the day with one wicket in hand.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 229/9 (90) Dinesh Chandimal 74, Kusal Mendis 59*, Dimuth Karunaratne 36, Ramesh Mendis 28, Mitchell Starc 3/37, Nathan Lyon 3/78, Matthew Kuhnemann 2/53
Stumps: Day 1.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Nathan Lyon | 11 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 35.48 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | b Nathan Lyon | 36 | 83 | 3 | 0 | 43.37 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | st Alex Carey b Matthew Kuhemann | 74 | 163 | 6 | 1 | 45.40 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Alex Carey b Nathan Lyon | 1 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 3.85 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Steve Smith b Travis Head | 13 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 61.90 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Beau Webster b Mitchell Starc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | not out | 85 | 139 | 10 | 1 | 61.15 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Alex Carey b Mitchell Starc | 28 | 94 | 2 | 0 | 29.79 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Steve Smith b Mitchell Starc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nishan Peiris | b Matthew Kuhemann | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Beau Webster b Matthew Kuhemann | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 7.69 |
| Extras | 7 (b 4 , lb 1 , nb 2, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 257/10 (97.4 Overs, RR: 2.63) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 16 | 3 | 37 | 3 | 2.31 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 33.4 | 9 | 63 | 3 | 1.89 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 34 | 5 | 96 | 3 | 2.82 | |
| Beau Webster | 3 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 4.33 | |
| Cooper Connolly | 3 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Travis Head | 8 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 3.88 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Head | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Nishan Peiris | 21 | 22 | 3 | 0 | 95.45 |
| Usman Khawaja | lbw b Nishan Peiris | 36 | 57 | 3 | 0 | 63.16 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Steve Smith | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 131 | 254 | 10 | 1 | 51.57 |
| Alex Carey | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 156 | 188 | 15 | 2 | 82.98 |
| Josh Inglis | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Beau Webster | b Ramesh Mendis | 31 | 62 | 3 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Cooper Connolly | c Ramesh Mendis b Nishan Peiris | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Mitchell Starc | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 8 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 27.59 |
| Nathan Lyon | not out | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Matthew Kuhemann | not out | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Extras | 15 (b 6 , lb 9 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 414/9 (106.4 Overs, RR: 3.88) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Kumara | 7 | 1 | 37 | 0 | 5.29 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 5 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 3.60 | |
| Nishan Peiris | 31 | 4 | 94 | 3 | 3.03 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 38 | 6 | 151 | 5 | 3.97 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 22.4 | 0 | 81 | 2 | 3.62 | |
| Kamindu Mendis | 3 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | b Matthew Kuhemann | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Alex Carey b Matthew Kuhemann | 14 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Beau Webster b Nathan Lyon | 12 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Beau Webster b Nathan Lyon | 76 | 149 | 4 | 1 | 51.01 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Usman Khawaja b Nathan Lyon | 14 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Steve Smith b Matthew Kuhemann | 23 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Kusal Mendis | c Steve Smith b Nathan Lyon | 50 | 54 | 5 | 1 | 92.59 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Travis Head b Beau Webster | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | c Steve Smith b Matthew Kuhemann | 6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Lahiru Kumara | b Beau Webster | 9 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Nishan Peiris | not out | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Extras | 15 (b 8 , lb 1 , nb 1, w 0, pen 5) |
| Total | 231/10 (68.1 Overs, RR: 3.39) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Starc | 4 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | |
| Matthew Kuhemann | 23 | 5 | 63 | 4 | 2.74 | |
| Travis Head | 9 | 0 | 33 | 0 | 3.67 | |
| Nathan Lyon | 28 | 3 | 84 | 4 | 3.00 | |
| Cooper Connolly | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 | |
| Beau Webster | 2.1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2.86 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usman Khawaja | not out | 27 | 44 | 3 | 0 | 61.36 |
| Travis Head | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 20 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 86.96 |
| Marnus Labuschagne | not out | 26 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Extras | 2 (b 2 , lb 0 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 75/1 (17.4 Overs, RR: 4.25) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramesh Mendis | 3 | 1 | 16 | 0 | 5.33 | |
| Nishan Peiris | 8 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4.38 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 6 | 1 | 20 | 1 | 3.33 | |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | 0.4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7.50 | |
 of the second Test against Australia in Galle.){kind=link}