Galle [Sri Lanka], January 31 (ANI): The rain played a major role on the third day of the ongoing Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Galle International Stadium on Friday.
At Stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka were 136/5 in 42 overs with Dinesh Chandimal and Kusal Mendis unbeaten on the crease as they are way behind Baggy Greens total by 518 runs.
The hosts started Day 3 from 44/3 with Dinesh Chandimal (9*) and Kamindu Mendis (13*) unbeaten in reply to Australia’s 654/6 declared in the first innings. They trailed by 610 runs.
Chandimal and Mendis were able to add just 23 runs to the overnight total as Kamindu Mendis was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 15 runs for his side.
Following Mendis’s dismissal, Dhananjaya De Silva came out to bat in the middle along with Chandimal. Both the players built a partnership of 40 runs before the latter was sent back to the dressing room in the 33rd over of the innings when the team score was 107 runs after scoring just 22 runs with the help of three boundaries.
After De Silva’s wicket, the wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis came out to bat at the crease. Till the end of Day’s play, both players built an unbeaten partnership of 29 runs.
For the visitors, two wickets each were snapped by left-arm seamer Mitchell Starc and left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann and one wicket was bagged by off-spinner Nathan Lyon in their respective spells.
Recapping the match so far, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. A 92-run partnership between Usman Khawaja and Travis Head (57 in 40 balls, with 10 fours and a six) kickstarted things off for Australia. Steve Smith became the fourth Australian to touch the 10,000 mark in Tests and centuries from him and Khawaja marked Australia’s day one end at 330/2.
On the next day, misery and runs from Australian batters continued to pile up for Sri Lanka and the spin bowling trio of Prabath Jayasuriya (3/193), Jeffrey Vandersay (3/182) and Nishan Peiris (0/189) looked hopeless beyond repair. Smith fell to Vandersay (141 in 251 balls, with 12 fours and two sixes) after the team crossed the 400-run mark while Khawaja converted his century to a maiden double ton, making 232 in 352 balls, with 16 fours and a six. Josh Inglis on his Test debut, also slammed a 94-ball 102 with 10 fours and a six, taking Australia beyond the 600-run mark.
Contributions from Alex Carey (46*), Beau Webster (23) and Mitchell Starc (19*) helped Australia reach 654/6 declared, their highest-ever score in Asia, outdoing the 617 runs scored against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1980.
In their first innings, Sri Lanka lost their top order early and ended their day at 44/3, with Kamindu Mendis (13*) and Dinesh Chandimal (9*) unbeaten.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka: 136/5 (Dinesh Chandimal 63*, Dhananjaya De Silva 22, Mitchell Starc 2/13) vs Australia: 654/6 declared (Usman Khawaja 232, Steve Smith 141, Jeffrey Vandersay 3/182) by 610 runs. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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