Hosts reign on second day, as debutant Jayasuriya claims six-fer
Prabath Jayasuriya filled the void of a frontline spinner - AFP
Sri Lanka retaliated brilliantly to remain 184 for 2 at stumps on day two, in response to Australia’s first innings total of 364 amidst a massive anti-Government protest in front of the Galle International Cricket Stadium demanding the resignation of the President and Prime Minister.
Thirty minutes onto the day’s proceedings, people marched from the train station onto the ramparts of the Galle Fort. They then parked themselves in front of the stadium shouting slogans till late into the night while in Colombo protestors took control of the President’s House.
The developments took the shine off the game with the focus firmly on the drama unfolding outside of the boundary line but, unlike in the first game, Sri Lanka batted with great resolve to put themselves in a comfortable position.
Sri Lanka conceded the first game by 10 wickets, after being bowled out for 113 in the second innings as the game lasted just five sessions, discounting the session and half lost due to bad weather.
The hosts lost opener Pathum Nissanka cheaply when Cameron Green held onto a catch flying over his head at gully off Mitchell Starc with the score on 12. But since then, batters in the middle were resolute. Dimuth Karunaratne nearly fell before tea but Mitchell Swepson dropped the difficult caught-and-bowled opportunity as the ball rushed towards his right.
Unruffled by the developments outside, the two tormented the Australian bowlers with determination and calm before Swepson trapped Karunaratne leg before, ending a record second-wicket stand of 152 runs. Kumar Sangakkara and Marvan Atapattu had shared 143 for the second wicket back in 2007—the best thus far.
Karunaratne’s innings, the 30th fifty plus score in Test cricket, came off 165 balls and included 10 boundaries.
Mendis was 84 not out—his 14th score of over 50 runs—while Angelo Mathews remained unbeaten on six as Sri Lanka put up the fight to stay on for another day. Sri Lanka are still trailing by 180 runs with eight wickets in hand. Mendis, who is eying his eighth Test century had nine boundaries in his innings—including some trademark cover drives and would look to build on as Sri Lanka desperately need a big score from the top order to put the tourists on the back foot.
Australian bowlers had little success on day two with Nathan Lyon and Travis Head—who bamboozled the Lankans in the first game, going wicketless in the innings so far.
Though Australia were in a position of strength at the end of day one with five wickets in hand at 298, their next five wickets fell in a jiffy, as Sri Lanka fought back to gain some momentum in the must-win game.
Despite Steven Smith scoring 145 not out, the remaining five wickets fell dramatically with debutant Prabath Jayasuriya enjoying a dream game, finishing with six for 118 runs. It was the best bowling by a debutant at the ground and second best by a Sri Lankan on debut.
The 30-year-old was never in the reckoning for a place in the team but when Covid-19 hit several members of the squad, the selectors brought him in as a replacement. Using all his years of experience in first class cricket, Jayasuriya rose to the occasion, inflicting a collapse as Australia lost their last five wickets for just 66 runs.
Having already taken the wickets of centurion Marnus Labuschagne (his maiden wicket), Travis Head and Cameron Green the previous day, he picked the wicket of Alex Carey, breaking a threatening sixth wicket stand of 77. Carey reverse-swept Jayasuriya to Ramesh Mendis fielding at deep point on 28. After Carey’s dismissal, Australia could add only 35 runs to their score as they folded at 364 despite Smith desperately trying to farm the strike before running out of partners.
Jayasuriya then had Mitchell Starc brilliantly caught at slip before Nathan Lyon was trapped leg before to finish with six scalps. Mitchell Swepson was trapped leg before off debutant Maheesh Theekshana—his first wicket in the longer format.
Australia’s innings was built on Smith and Labuschagne (104), the two centurions, and even though Usman Khawaja and Carey got starts, they could not convert them big as Sri Lanka managed to restrict them for a moderate total.
| SCORECARD | |
| Australia 1st Innings (298-5 overnight) Usman Khawaja b R. Mendis 37 (Pitched on middle and off, turns past his back foot and touches the top of the off stump) David Warner b Rajitha 05 (Angles into middle stump, batsman moves forward but beaten, nips away and brushes the top of the off stump) Marnus Labuschagne st Dickwella b Jayasuriya 104 (Comes down the track, defends, but the ball takes a sharp turn past the edge to find the wicketkeeper, who completes the stumping) Steven Smith not out 145 Travis Head b Jayasuriya 12 (Good length, and sharp turn outside off, batsman plays, but in the wrong line only to be beaten and find the off stump) Cameron Green lbw b Jayasuriya 04 (Attempts to sweep from outside off, misses, hits the pad, reviews and umpire’s decision stays) Alex Carey c R. Mendis b Jayasuriya 28 (Easy catch at point, batsman reverse sweeps on a slower delivery, miscues off the top edge) Mitchell Starc c K. Mendis b Jayasuriya 01 (Good length outside off, drifts away from the left hander as batsman pushes to give a thick edge to slip) Pat Cummins lbw b Rajitha 05 (Angled delivery, plays across, misses and ball hits back leg in front of the off, umpire turns down the appeal, reviewed and turned down) Nathan Lyon lbw b Jayasuriya 05 (Good length, batsman stays back and rapped on the front, given out, batsman reviews instantly, but decision upheld) Mitchell Swepson lbw b Theekshana 03 (Pitches on off and beats the forward defence to strike the front pad) Extras (b5, lb6, nb3, w1) 15 Total (all out; 110 overs) 364 Fall of wickets: 1-15 (Warner, 4.5ov), 2-70 (Khawaja, 21.5ov), 3-204 (Labuschagne, 58.4ov), 4-238 (Head, 72.2ov), 5-252 (Green, 76.6ov), 6-329 (Carey, 98.2ov), 7-333 (Starc, 100.2ov), 8-338 (Cummins, 101.3ov), 9-345 (Lyon, 102.5ov), 10-364 (Swepson, 109.6ov) Bowling: Kasun Rajitha 25-4-70-2, Ramesh Mendis 33-1-117-1, Maheesh Theekshana 16-2-48-1, Prabath Jayasuriya 36-3-118-6 Sri Lanka 1st Innings Pathum Nissanka c Green b Starc 06 (Back of a length, rises outside off across the batsman, attempts to drive off the back foot, finds a thick edge to offer a diving catch) Dimuth Karunaratne lbw b Swepson 86 (Leg spinner pitching on leg and skidding through, attempts to clip, but misses, given out, reviews, original decision stays) Kusal Mendis not out 84 Angelo Mathews not out 06 Extras (b1, w1) 02 Total (2 wickets; 63 overs) 184 Yet to bat: Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Nissanka, 8.3ov), 2-164 (Karunaratne, 54.4ov) Bowling: Mitchell Starc 12-2-28-1, Pat Cummins 13-4-34-0, Nathan Lyon 21-1-69-0, Cameron Green 3-0-8-0, Mitchell Swepson 11-2-31-1, Travis Head 3-0-13-0 |