The first Test was set for an interesting climax - 185 runs for Australia and seven wickets for Sri Lanka were the respective targets for the two sides at the start of the day. For most parts of the morning, a few spells of shower had threatened to rob the excitement, but only 75 minutes were lost, before the Sri Lankan spinners put Australia in a fix.
Sri Lanka started out with the two left-arm spinners - Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan - operating from either ends. While Adam Voges chose to play them from the crease, Steve Smith kept coming down the track to negate the turn. The duo took Australia off to a slow start, before the latter started finding scoring opportunities in the vacant areas.
Voges departed without making a significant contribution. He offered a low, return catch to Herath, but the fielders inside the circle didn't seem excited by the opportunity. Angelo Mathews, stationed at slips, was the only one who was convinced about the dismissal and forced the on-field umpires to consult each other, before taking the help of the third umpire. As it turned out, replays showed that the ball had pitched right before making contact with Voges's bat and loop back to the bowler.
Mathews had four fielders inside the ring on the leg side - forward short leg, two fielders in the mid wicket region and a mid on - to counter Smith's tendency to play the flick shot on a regular basis. Smith, reputed to be a busy cricketer who prefers to keep the scoreboard ticking, was left frustrated as Sri Lanka curbed the run flow.
However, with the pitch getting slower, the two batsmen found it easier to negotiate the tweakers. Smith and Mitchell Marsh resorted to working the ball around the field for singles and twos as they put on a 43-run stand for the fifth wicket, before the latter was trapped leg before wicket. Umpire S Ravi saw a bit of bat in that and turned down the appeal, only for Mathews to use his review. Sri Lanka once again found success on going upstairs as replays showed that the ball had struck the pad before the bat, sending Marsh back to the hut for 25.
Four balls later, Smith reviewed and survived a vociferous appeal for caught behind off Sandakan. Soon enough, however, Herath made the most crucial dent on Australia's shaky chase as he trapped Smith in front of the stumps. The Australia skipper went for a review again, but in vain this time.
Sandakan, who troubled the batsmen all through the session, was rewarded at the stroke of lunch when Mitchell Starc gave the spinner a return catch.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 117 (Dhananjaya de Silva 24; Nathan Lyon 3-12, Hazlewood 3-20, Steve O'Keefe 2-32) and 353 (Kusal Mendis 176, Chandimal 41; Mitchell Starc 4-62) lead Australia 203 (Adam Voges 47, Mitchell Marsh 31; Rangana Herath 4-49, Lakshan Sandakan 4-58) and 141/7 (Steve Smith 55, Joe Burns 29; Rangana Herath 4-49, Lakshan Sandakan 2-34) by 126 runs.
No comments:
Post a Comment