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Aussie bowlers strike early on day 3 | 00:26
Galle’s rain is the only thing standing in the way of Australia cruising towards a comfortable victory in the first Test of the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy campaign against Sri Lanka.
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Only 26 overs were possible on day three of the series opener before the venue was hammered by rain, resulting in no play after the premature lunch break. Sri Lanka is 5-136 at stumps, still trailing by 518 runs, with batter Dinesh Chandimal (63*) and wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis (10*) unbeaten overnight.
Australia, having not won a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2011, will need to unearth 15 wickets across the remaining two days to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match campaign.
MATCH CENTRE: Sri Lanka vs Australia first Test scorecard
With Sri Lanka resuming at 3-44 on Friday morning, captain Steve Smith missed a difficult chance at first slip off Nathan Lyon’s bowling to hand Chandimal a reprieve on 15. However, Australia didn’t have to wait long for their first breakthrough of the morning session, with the dangerous Kamindu Mendis tickling a wayward delivery from speedster Mitchell Starc down the leg side through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey for 15.
Not long after, Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva threw his wicket away by recklessly charging down the pitch at spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, stumped by Carey for 22.
Chandimal refused to budge, counterpunching with a flurry of reverse sweeps before Galle’s rain gave Sri Lanka a glimmer of hope of stealing a draw from the jaws of defeat.
“He’s batting beautifully at the moment,” Kuhnemann said of Chandimal.
“Playing some lovely shots against all of us, really. So just whether or not (we try) to block that boundary option for him and sort of get him defending, sort of get him out caught, bat pads, slip and whatnot. So I think if we bowl our best balls, hopefully the wicket can look after it for us.”
The first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia will resume on Saturday at 3.15pm AEDT.
The pitch is covered. Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty ImagesSource: Getty ImagesSRI LANKAN SKIPPER’S HORRORSHOW GETS EVEN WORSE
Nothing has gone right for Dhananjaya de Silva in Galle over the past three days.
After losing the toss — his first mistake — the Sri Lankan captain ignored Asitha Fernando’s pleas to review an LBW chance against Travis Head, who at the time was unbeaten on 23. Ball-tracking replays proved the Australian opener was plumb.
Later on day one, de Silva opted not to review a caught-behind chance when Australian veteran Usman Khawaja was on 74, but Snicko technology later showed the ball had kissed his bat. The Australian opener went on to score a career-best 232.
Earlier in the innings, de Silva dropped a low chance at first slip to hand Khawaja a massive reprieve on 54.
The Sri Lankan skipper had an opportunity to redeem himself on day three, walking out to bat with the hosts in deep trouble at 4-67.
However, after adding 40 runs alongside Dinesh Chandimal for the fifth wicket, de Silva threw his wicket away by charging down the pitch at spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for 22 three deliveries after the drinks break.
He was nowhere near the ball.
There’s a fine line between courage and recklessness, but de Silva crossed it.
STARC STEALS RECORD FROM PAKISTAN LEGEND
Mitchell Starc’s love affair with Sri Lanka continues.
Since his first tour to the Asian nation in 2016, the left-armed quick has been a weapon with ball in hand, taking 31 wickets at 16.77, the most for any touring bowler in Tests.
Sri Lanka’s dry decks have favoured spinners over the past decade, but Starc’s raw pace and reverse swing ensure he remains a constant threat.
Incredibly, Starc averages better with the ball in Sri Lanka than any other nation.
The 35-year-old’s lone victim on Friday was the in-form Kamindu Mendis, who tickled a wayward delivery down the leg side through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. Although it may be considered a lucky dismissal, he deserved the breakthrough.
Starc, who claimed figures of 2-13 from eight overs, was also considerably more impactful than Sri Lankan seamer Asitha Fernando, who produced 15 wicketless overs in the first innings with an economy rate of 5.13.
“This morning he bowled absolutely beautifully,” former Australian batter Greg Blewett said on Channel 7.
“It just looks a completely different surface watching Fernando bowl on it compared to the extra pace and bounce of Starc.
“He had it on a string … he’s been a real handful.”
The other advantage of having Starc in the starting XI is the footmarks he creates outside off stump, which spinners Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy will target as the match progresses.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc. Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFPSource: AFPMost Test wickets among touring pace bowlers in Sri Lanka
31 — Mitchell Starc (AUS)
30 — Wasim Akram (PAK)
27 — Richard Hadlee (NZ)
27 — Waqar Younis (PAK)
26 — Ishant Sharma (IND)
AUSSIE GREAT ‘SURPRISED’ BY LEISURELY SPINNERS
Former Test cricketer Simon Katich believes the Sri Lankan finger spinners bowled too slowly during the first innings in Galle, arguing their lack of pace allowed Australia’s batters to use their feet.
The average speeds of Prabath Jayasuriya and Nishan Peiris during Australia’s first innings were 80.8km/h and 83.4km/h respectively, which was considerably slower than Nathan Lyon (89.7km/h) and Matthew Kuhnemann (89.1km/h) in the series opener.
“I was surprised by the slower pace of the Sri Lankan spinners,” Katich said in commentary.
“That’s what allowed the Australian batters to use their feet, that slower pace. You can get down the wicket at that pace, whereas the quicker pace of the Australian has made it that little bit more difficult for the Sri Lankan batsmen to use their feet.”
Australia’s Matthew Kuhnemann. Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFPSource: AFPHowever, Katich pointed out that other factors — including fatigue and the pitch’s deterioration — contributed to the team’s varying success in Galle.
“The bowling’s always going to look more threatening because they’re fresher and the conditions,” Katich continued.
“There’s a little bit more assistance than there was on day one.”
Speeds of spin bowlers during the Galle Test
94.1km/h — Todd Murphy
89.7km/h — Nathan Lyon
89.1km/h — Matthew Kuhnemann
83.4km/h — Nishan Peiris
80.8km/h — Prabath Jayasuriya
80.4km/h — Jeffrey Vandersay
