SL vs AUS | Smith-Carey tons bat Lanka out of the game despite early glimmer for hosts on Day 2

AUS 330/3 (Carey 139*, Smith 120*; Peiris 2/70) lead SL 257 (Kusal 85*, Chandimal 74; Starc 3/37) by 73 runs

Overnight batter Kusal Mendis continued with his sweeping masterclass to begin Day 2 on a positive note for Sri Lanka and together with Lahiru Kumara added 28 runs to the team total before the latter inevitably fell victim to Matt Kuhnemann, thus ending a 26-ball vigil.

Travis Head and Usman Khawaja kicked off Australia's pursuit in the same fashion that had earned them a record victory in the previous encounter as the former dispatched Kumara for three boundaries in two overs to force Nishan Peiris into the attack along with Dhananjaya de Silva. The decision worked a charm as another charge down the track from Head ended the bowler's way this time around and a simple catch at slip earned Lanka the first breakthrough for 32 runs. However, Marnus Labuschagne looked set to keep the pressure on by creaming his first ball through covers but his stay was short-lived courtesy a quicker arm-ball from Prabath Jayausriya that slid through and trapped the batter plumb. With the pitch playing significantly quicker than the previous day and Lunch not too far away, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith joined hands to stabilize the innings and effortlessly saw off the spinners for 48 runs before the session ended at 85/2.

Reinvigorated, Lanka tried to rein back momentum after Lunch with just six runs coming off the first 22 balls, and ultimately succeeded when a quicker short delivery from Peiris skid under Khawaja's bat to send him packing for 36. A back niggle for Josh Inglis meant it was Alex Carey's turn to arrive at the crease and the wicket-keeper grasped at his promotion with both hands. Together with Smith, he put up a sweeping exhibition, playing everything from the slog and reverse to conventional and fine sweeps while his more experienced counterpart kept gliding down the track to smack the ball down the ground or through the off-side. The hosts quickly lost steam as long hops and wild full deliveries became more frequent, allowing Smith to cruise past 70 with the stand reading 106 by the time Tea was called at 197/3.

With the first run of the third session, Carey himself brought up a quickfire half-century off just 68 balls and showed no signs of stepping even as he marched towards a ton. Smith, meanwhile, kept making records tumble at the other end, surpassing Ricky Ponting for most Test runs by an Australian on Asian soil and soaring to fifth on the overall list for non-Asians. With a pull off Kamindu Mendis through midwicket, the legend brought up his 36th Test ton equalling Rahul Dravid and Joe Root, and his fourth in the last five Tests. A little over five overs later, it was Carey's turn to leap in joy and take off the helmet as he brought up the three figure mark in style with two boundaries off Jayasuriya, having also dispatched Jayasuriya for a maximum in the previous over. As the day wore on, the exhaustion and frustration increasingly took its toll on the hosts and almost seemed relievd when Carey clipped Lahiru on the last ball of the day with the 239-run partnership still intact.

Fake fielding

The 1st

What an avg

Hate it

Stumps

One & only

What a day!

Special

Too weak

Crazy