In what turned out to be an intriguing session, Mendis tried to tilt the balance in favour of the home team by checking in a series of shots after Australia struck early. However, with roughly 30 minutes left for the lunch break, Lyon put the visitors back in front by dismissing the Sri Lankan skipper as the home team ended the session at 116 for 4, with a lead of 30 runs. Mendis, however, remained robust on 86.
It was Mitchell Starc who joined forces with the metronomic Josh Hazlewood to cause problems for the Sri Lankan batsmen in the first hour. The left-arm pacer from New South Wales made an early incision by dismissing Dimuth Karunaratne for a duck for the second time in the match in the first over of the third morning. He tempted the 28-year-old batsman with a couple of deliveries that pitched and straightened a touch on the angle before bending one back into the left-hander to trap him right in front.
Karunaratne wasn't convinced about the decision and went for the review, but Hawk-eye suggested that it was clipping the leg stump and the on-field decision was upheld. His pace colleague, Hazlewood, extracted nifty movement off the pitch and produced a couple of edges, but couldn't make the breakthrough.
Steve O'Keefe, who replaced Hazlewood then broke Kaushal Silva's (7) resolve by prising him out leg before in the 13th over of the day. In familiar climes for spin bowling, he got one to skid off the surface and Silva's tendency to thrust his front pad led to his dismissal. Curiously, Silva, too, decided to ask for a review, but just like Karunaratne, had to make the walk back to the pavilion as the ball-tracker reckoned it was clipping leg stump.
It has to be noted that both Sri Lanka and Australia have been poor with their reviews in this Test.
Mendis, who showed some promise during the tour of England, continued to grow in stature as he piled up a flurry of delectable shots. When Starc banged it short, he got into a good position to essay the cut stroke and as soon as the left-arm pacer overcompensated by bowling it too full, he smoothed drives through the cover region.
Mendis had to encounter a few nervy moments, especially when he tried to sweep the spin duo, but his stroke-filled fifty helped the hosts get in front. He also regathered his thoughts quickly after reaching the milestone to collect crucial runs. Incidentally, his fifty also turned out to be the only half-century of the match so far. The way he defused the Australian spinners should give plenty of hope to the Lankan camp.
The experienced Mathews ran the opposition ragged by stealing singles and twos as the pair stitched a fine partnership in testing conditions.
However, at the stroke of lunch, Lyon chipped in with his first scalp of the innings by snaring Mathews's wicket to give Australia the upper hand. O'Keefe was arguably the most insistent bowler on show for the tourists. He had quite a few close appeals for leg before turned down. The trio of Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon threatened to pick up wickets intermittently.
On the third day, along with appreciable turn, the bowlers are extracting uneven bounce from the surface. The visitors certainly wouldn't want to chase a target anything in excess of 150.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 117 (Dhananjaya de Silva 24; Nathan Lyon 3-12, Hazlewood 3-20, Steve O'Keefe 2-32) and 116/4 (Kusal Mendis 86*; Mitchell Starc 2-28) lead Australia 203 (Adam Voges 47, Mitchell Marsh 31; Rangana Herath 4-49, Lakshan Sandakan 4-58) by 30 runs.
No comments:
Post a Comment