GALLE: Left-handed opener Usman Khawaja’s maiden double century, coupled with Josh Inglis’s brisk hundred on debut, strengthened Australia’s command on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka here at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
At the conclusion of the second day, the home side were reeling at 44/3 in response to Australia’s first innings’ 654/6d.
Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon each took one wicket to push Sri Lanka to the backfoot.
Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal, unbeaten on 13 and nine respectively, will resume Sri Lanka’s response on the third day as they trail by 610 runs.
Earlier in the day, Australia resumed their first innings from an overnight score of 330/2 through centurions Khawaja and Steve Smith.
The duo remained in control as they added 71 more runs to their overnight third-wicket partnership, which eventually culminated in the 100th over when Smith was trapped lbw by Jeffrey Vandersay.
The right-handed batter walked back after scoring 141 off 251 deliveries with the help of 12 fours and two sixes.
Meanwhile, another set batter Khawaja was then joined by debutant Inglis in the middle and added to the frustration of the home side as they put together a quick 146-run partnership.
The sensational stand concluded when Prabath Jayasuriya gave Sri Lanka a much-needed breakthrough by sending back Khawaja.
Usman Khawaja remained the top-scorer for Australia with a monumental 232-run knock, studded with 16 fours and a six.
Inglis, on the other hand, followed suit just 26 balls later as he too, fell victim to Jayasuriya soon after reaching the landmark in his first Test appearance.
The right-handed batter struck 10 fours and a six on his way to a 94-ball 102.
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey and Beau Webster then shared a handy 59-run partnership for the sixth wicket, which took Australia’s total past the 600-run mark.
Webster was dismissed by Vandersay after scoring 23, while Carey returned unbeaten for 46, alongside Mitchell Starc (19 not out) as Smith declared Australia’s first innings after 154 overs.
For Sri Lanka, Vandersay and Jayasuriya bagged three wickets each.
Comments