By Ranjika Perera
Sri Lanka ended Day Three with a first innings lead of 67 runs in the second Test of Moose Clothing Test Series played for the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy at the Galle International Stadium yesterday (10).
Sri Lanka resumed their first innings at 184 for two on day three, with Kusal Mendis unbeaten on 84. Unfortunately, Mendis was the first to fall when he played back to a ripping off spinner from Nathan Lyon.
Angelo Mathews who was fairly new to the crease was joined by Dinesh Chandimal. The two most experienced batters in the side, added 83-runs to the fourth wicket before Mathews was caught plumb in front by Mitchell Starc after reaching his half-ton.
Chandimal was joined by debutant Kamindu Mendis. The pair looked at ease as they added 133 runs for the fifth wicket. Mendis played a brilliant knock on debut as he posted his maiden half century in tests. Chandimal at the other end, controlled the innings and reached his 13th Test century.
Late in the day, Sri Lanka lost back to back wickets to Mendis and Niroshan Dickwella, but Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis made sure to remain unbeaten until the end of play.
Correct approach against the spin
Sri Lankan batters evidently changed their tactics when it came to handling the spin. The second innings of the previous test, Sri Lankan batters were using the sweep shot to get out of jail. On most occasions they paid the price with their wickets. But in this innings, they were more circumspect when it came to the sweep shot. Against Lyon, they did not try to hit the ball hard when sweeping, they concentrated on keeping the ball down by rolling their wrists over the ball. Apart from the sweep, the Lankan batters also used their feet to dance down the track whenever the opportunity arose.
Unlucky and clumsy Aussies
93.4 – Starc to Chandimal, gets the ball to climb just outside the offside, Chandimal goes for an awkward late dab, and the stump mic picks up the slight sound on TV as the players around the bat appeal. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena was unmoved but Australia were confident. They would have taken the review but unfortunately they’ve wasted all three of them. Later on, Snicko suggested that Chandimal nicked it.
It would have been a massive wicket after lunch given the fact that Aussies already saw the back of set batter Angelo Mathews. Before the lunch break, Chandimal got another life when Alex Carey missed a tough stumping chance off Lyon. Carey was in the spotlight again when he missed another stumping chance of Kamidu Mendis off Lyon.
Chandimal-Mathews step up under pressure
Mathews lost his overnight partner Kusal Mendis early in the day. But he and Chandimal came good for Sri Lanka in a pitch where batters struggled to get in. The two most experienced batters in the side read the game well and showed great balance between aggression and defense. Chandimal in particular, did not let the Aussies spinners settle down. He used his feet to come down the track and used the sweep to put them under pressure.
Brief scores
Australia first innings 364 all out in 110 overs
(Steve Smith 145*, Marnus Labuschagne 104, Usman Khawaja 37, Prabath Jayasuriya 6/118, Kasun Rajitha 2/70)
Sri Lanka first innings 431 for 6 in 149 overs
(Dinesh Chandimal 118*, Dimuth Karunarathne 87, Kusal Mendis 85, Kamindu Mendis 61, Angelo Mathews 52, Mitchel Starc 2/47, Mitchel Swepson 2/90, Nathan Lyon 2/160)
Sri Lanka edge ahead with Chandimal ton
11 Jul 2022
Sri Lanka edge ahead with Chandimal ton
11 Jul 2022
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