Sri Lanka have stabilized with the bat after two early gates in the first test against Australia in Galle to reach lunch without further losses.
Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc sang early with Sri Lanka losing first player Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis within the first session before Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews survived a difficult lunch period.
Sri Lanka are 2-68 at the break with Dimuth Karunaratne (25) and Angelo Mathews (15) in the fold.
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After lunch, Australia, which has already squandered a review, opted not to challenge a non-lbw decision on the advice of Marnus Labuschagne, who said Karunaratne’s glove was involved against Mitchell Swepson.
Tracking the ball showed three red lights, but it was unclear if the ball touched the glove before the pad.
Cummins got a perfect long to have Nissanka (23) caught in the fold, surpassing delivery by a simple catch of Alex Carey behind the stumps.
Just four overs later, Mendis (3) played a loose shot at Starc off the stump that was also cut on his way to Carey.
Earlier, Nathan Lyon went on the attack for the sixth over and found a turn and a rebound with literally his first ball, which went over the outside edge. He even surprised goalkeeper Alex Carey, who was hit in the helmet by the delivery.
Back then, the Australians were sure Mendis had caught the bat-pad in the 14th, but eventually Cummins wasted a review with UltraEdge that showed no inside advantage.
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Travis Head plays after surviving a late injury to keep his place in the middle order.
It means Glenn Maxwell has not returned by surprise to the Australian eleven, as he is still chasing his first appearance in the tests since 2017.
“It’s good that we can put together 11 players,” joked Pat Cummins in the draw. “Travis Head has thrown himself really well. Everyone is in shape.”
Mitchell Starc has arrested Josh Hazlewood for one of two specialized sewing positions alongside Captain Pat Cummins.
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EQUIPMENT
Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando
Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon Mitchell Swepson
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Cummins wants to lift Warner ban | 00:40
Australia will deploy two spinners, the Nathan Lyon trade and the Mitch Swepson leggi, with a bold ploy to use a wrist spinner in a field where finger rotation has been the deciding factor over the years.
Swepson retained his place with injured Ashton Agar and his left-wing teammate Jon Holland, who was transferred to the country as a late substitute, unfit to play after a finger injury.
Notably, only once in the last six and a half years has a team played a test at Galle without at least two front-line finger spinners.
Australia is chasing a first win at Galle since a 125-race victory in 2011, while victory would mean consecutive test victories in Asia for the first time since 2006, after beating Pakistan in the most recent race of Australia in March 2022.