An unbeaten double-century stand between Steve Smith and Alex Carey helped Australia take a 73-run lead with seven wickets in hand at the end of day two (7th February) in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.
Australian openers started aggressively but were quickly dismissed inside seven overs as Sri Lanka struck twice in consecutive overs. Nishan Peiris removed the dangerous Travis Head, who was caught at slip after charging down the track against the spin. Prabath Jayasuriya then trapped Marnus Labuschagne LBW, with Australia also losing a review in the process, reducing them to 37/2.
The experienced duo of Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith attempted to stabilize the innings, but their partnership was limited to just a half-century stand. Shortly after lunch, Peiris struck for the second time, dismissing Khawaja LBW.
Alex Carey walked in next, ahead of Josh Inglis, who had spent time off the field yesterday due to a back injury. Carey batted fluently from the outset, using the sweep and reverse-sweep to great effect, while Smith looked well-set at the other end. As their partnership grew, pressure mounted on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Coming off a century in the first Test, stand-in captain Smith continued his batting masterclass, bringing up his 36th Test hundred. Carey, unfazed by the situation, reached his second Test century off just 118 balls—his first since December 2022.
They made the Sri Lankan bowlers toil hard, taking Australia into the lead. Their unbroken fourth-wicket partnership stood at 239 off 331 balls as the visitors finished the day on 330/3. The pitch offered slow turn, making life difficult for the bowlers, who toiled without success in the final session.
Earlier, the hosts resumed their first innings at 229 for 9, with Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Kumara at the crease. The pair batted for another 7.4 overs in the morning, adding a crucial 28 runs to take Sri Lanka’s total to 257. No. 11 batter Kumara provided solid support to Mendis before Matthew Kuhnemann claimed the final wicket, with Beau Webster taking a sharp low catch at gully.
Mendis played a brilliant knock lower down the order, remaining unbeaten on 85 off 139 deliveries, including 10 fours and a six. Australian main bowlers—Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, and Nathan Lyon—were all among the wickets, picking up three scalps each.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 257 (97.4) Kusal Mendis 85*, Dinesh Chandimal 74, Dimuth Karunaratne 36, Ramesh Mendis 28, Mitchell Starc 3/37, Matthew Kuhnemann 3/63, Nathan Lyon 3/96
Australia 330/3 (80) Alex Carey 139*, Steve Smith 120*, Usman Khawaja 36, Nishan Peiris 2/70, Prabath Jayasuriya 1/107
Stumps: Day 2 – Australia lead by 73 runs.
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 | |
 in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.){kind=link}