Sri Lanka v Australia: second men’s cricket Test, day one – live | Australia cricket team

46th over: Sri Lanka 126-4 (Chandimal 58, Mendis 13) And Head does it again! The new AB Medallist has that knack, and he shakes his arm as though it’s sore after the wicket, perhaps a joke to show how often his golden arm works. That’s the last ball of the over, after his off breaks get whacked for a couple of boundaries, down the ground by Chandi and swept by Kamindu. But the sixth ball is short, in at the left-hander’s body, and Kamindu tries a dab shot but only steers it to Smith at slip.

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Shot. That’s more like it – Chandimal uses his feet and drives Lyon down the ground for four. It was a bit uppish but safely in the gap. A better approach to take a few risks rather than scratching around and waiting to get a ball with your name on. A single through point brings Mathews on sttrike…

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He’s out! A flighted ball from Lyon is poked at by Mathews and Carey takes a sharp catch behind the stumps. That’s Lyon’s 150th wicket in Asia, it’s a nice on too, flighted and a hint of turn, he’s troubling both edges as he so often does. A painful innings from Big Angelo comes to an end.

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After looking completely untroubled Dimuth Karunatratne is bowled by Nathan Lyon! The ball skidded on and the batter went back when he should have come forward, a toe edge crashes into the stumps and he has to depart.

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Lyon takes the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne in Galle”,”caption”:”Nathan Lyon takes the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne in Galle.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1738826445000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”02.20 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1738829342000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”03.09 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1738826642000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”02.24 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”02.24″,”title”:”WICKET! Dimuth Karunaratne b Lyon 36 (Sri Lanka 93-2)”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 6 Feb 2025 03.21 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 5 Feb 2025 22.41 EST”},{“id”:”67a4577b8f08e4e07e8376c1″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

30 overs. 87 runs. The home side ticking along patiently at 2 and a bit runs an over after electing to bat first. Not a bad return for the loss of just Pathum Nissanka. Australia have bowled ok but without too much penetration on a pitch that has spun less than they might initially have thought.

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30th over: Sri Lanka 87-1 (Karunaratne 34, Chandimal 35)

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Bowled him! Lyon strikes in his first over – It’s not great batting from Nissanka as he gets waaay too far across his stumps and attempts a lap sweep, the ball turned right past him and clips the leg bail. Australia have their first of the Test.

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Lyon celebrates taking the wicket of Pathum Nissanka”,”caption”:”Nathan Lyon celebrates taking the wicket of Pathum Nissanka on day one of the second Test.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1738818248000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”00.04 EST”,”blockLastUpdated”:1738819185000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”00.19 EST”,”blockFirstPublished”:1738818431000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”00.07 EST”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”00.07″,”title”:”WICKET! Nissanka b Lyon 11 (Sri Lanka 23-1)”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Thu 6 Feb 2025 03.21 EST”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Wed 5 Feb 2025 22.41 EST”},{“id”:”67a4346d8f087cce19595fdb”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”

Sri Lanka skipper Dhanajaya de Silva doesn’t hesitate to lock in batting first in Galle after Australia put on 654/6 in the first innings in the first Test.

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Steve Smith is confident that Australia can still win in a different way as he confirms Cooper Connolly’s debut in place of Todd Murphy.

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Hello and welcome to the first day of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia from Galle*.

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Australia pummelled the home side in the first game, running out winners by an innings and 242 runs to inflict Sri Lanka’s heaviest defeat in their Test history. What to do in response to such a shellacking? The home side seem to be turning to spin to help them get something out of this two match series – by all accounts the surface for this game is drier than the bottom of a parrot’s cage.

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The conditions could well see 21-year-old left-arm spinner Cooper Connolly make his Test debut for Australia and we’ll definitely witness the 100th and final Test of Sri Lanka’s 36-year-old opening batter who goes by the full name of Frank Dimuth Madushanka Karunaratne.

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Play begins at 10am local time, 3.30pm AEDT. I’ll be back shortly with news of the teams and toss. As ever, do get in touch on the email linked at the left hand side of this page if you are tuning in. Your company and comments are always appreciated.

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* By way of a sofa in south London. You can’t have it all.

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Key events

WICKET! Kamindu c Smith b Head 13 (Sri Lanka 126-4)

Thanks, Big Jim. Nathan Lyon doing all the lifting early, with Australia choosing to go in one spinner down. Part-timers galore, with Travis Head now getting a chance on the ground where he took 4 for 10 a couple of years ago.

James Wallace

45th over: Sri Lanka 117-3 (Chandimal 53, Mendis 9) Mendis tickles Lyon off his pads for a welcome boundary. It’s been all Australia in the hour after lunch and Sri Lanka will be glad of a drink to stop the squeeze.

I’m glad to see Geoff Lemon sidling into the OBO armchair. That’s me done for today, thanks for your company – bye!

44th over: Sri Lanka 110-3 (Chandimal 51, Mendis 4) Mendis flicks in the air lazily and nearly dollies a simple catch to midwicket. Get your head on son.

43rd over: Sri Lanka 108-3 (Chandimal 50, Mendis 3) Lyon has his dander up, he’s on the prowl for poles. A third maiden to him, he has 3-33 off 17 overs. Sublime.

42nd over: Sri Lanka 108-3 (Chandimal 50, Mendis 3) Chandimal goes to a well made half century off 105 balls. He’s looked a bit skittish in the last few overs, unsure of how to counteract the incessantly nagging length and lines of Kuhnemann and Lyon. He averages around 6o in Test’s at Galle, he can’t let this slide now, his team need him to make a big one and set up this game.

41st over: Sri Lanka 105-3 (Chandimal 48, Mendis 2) Nathan Lyon is bowling like a dream, he slides one past Kamindu Mendis’ defensive poke and Joel Wilson raises the finger! Was there a noise? It wasn’t the most convincing appeal… Mendis sends it upstairs and sure enough there is a flat line on the snicko so the decision is reversed. NOT OUT.

40th over: Sri Lanka 105-3 (Chandimal 48, Mendis 2) A lot hinges on this partnership now for the home side, the wily experience of Chandimal and the coming man in golden form – Kamindu Mendis. They need to get their side to a competitive first innings score.

39th over: Sri Lanka 101-3 (Chandimal 46, Mendis 0) Kamindu Mendis is the new batter, Sri Lanka teetering a little after lunch.

WICKET! Mathews c Carey b Lyon 1 (Sri Lanka 101-3)

38th over: Sri Lanka 96-2 (Chandimal 41, Mathews 1) Chandimal uses his feet to get down the pitch and take a single down to long on, the first run in a long old while.

Elsewhere, has everyone seen this shot? Pure filth:

Paarl Royals got off to an absolute flyer in the first over ? #BetwaySA20 #MICTvPR #WelcomeToIncredible pic.twitter.com/KAJBh1HowA

— Betway SA20 (@SA20_League) February 4, 2025

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37th over: Sri Lanka 95-2 (Chandimal 40, Mathews 1) The run rate flatlines completely as Lyon ties Angelo Mathew to the crease. The batters need to find a way to rotate the strike. At the minute they are in their crease and letting the spinners dictate to them. Easily said from here, mind.

36th over: Sri Lanka 95-2 (Chandimal 40, Mathews 1) The pressure cooker begins to hiss. Just two runs in the last 20 odd balls as Kuhnemann reels off a maiden.

35th over: Sri Lanka 95-2 (Chandimal 40, Mathews 1) Australia are putting the squeeze on here, fielders around the bat – Marnus chirping away as is his wont – the run rate has stagnated since lunch.

34th over: Sri Lanka 94-2 (Chandimal 39, Mathews 1) Kuhnemann peels off a maiden. Looking at the Karunaratne wicket, it was clever bowling from Lyon, the ball before turned sharply and he followed up with a much quicker and straighter ball that was onto the batter before he expected. He was late on the stroke and that created enough of a gap for the ball to sneak through.

33rd over: Sri Lanka 94-2 (Chandimal 39, Mathews 1) Angelo Mathews is the new man and Australia sense they have a moment here, men swarm the bat. Lyon springs in, Angelo blocks a couple and gets of the mark with a push down the ground.

WICKET! Dimuth Karunaratne b Lyon 36 (Sri Lanka 93-2)

Nathan Lyon takes the wicket of Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne in Galle. Photograph: Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

32nd over: Sri Lanka 93-1 (Karunaratne 36, Chandimal 39) Matt Kuhnemann to bowl in tandem with Lyon. Karunaratne picks up a single to open his account for the afternoon and take the partnership to 70 and counting.

31st over: Sri Lanka 92-1 (Karunaratne 35, Chandimal 39) Chandimal gets his side off to a strong start in the afternoon session – pouncing on a wide-ish ball from Lyon and punching off the back foot for four through point.

The players head out to the middle after the lunch break. Hot sun beating down in Galle now. It’s dank and dark here in London. England are about to take on India in the first ODI over in Nagpur. Tom Davies has got you covered for that one:

Further lunchtime reading: Send me your worst butterfingered moments why don’t you! Droppers – you have nothing to lose but your… pride.

We all know what it is like to drop a catch. Remember when your colleague tossed you that Pink Lady over your desk, about eight years ago now. To the day. It was such a dolly! You malfunctioned didn’t you? Let yourself down, the apple fell on to your keyboard with an embarrassing clatter. Qwerty? Droppy more like. What about that time you fumbled the car keys off that simple over-bonnet-toss and there was a small but quite significant part of you inside that died for ever as you scrambled among the filth on the pavement. That is where you belong now, Droppy, among the dirt and grime, on the floor alongside your spilt opportunity.”

The players head off for some sustenance. I might well do the same. Back soon for some lunchtime musings. In the meantime, why not have a delve into a few of the pieces we’ve published on the site this week?

First up, this made me chuckle from the dripping-in-disdain quill of Jonny Liew. He’s sharp as ever as English cricket hits pay dirt, but at what cost?

Lunch: Sri Lanka 87-1

30th over: Sri Lanka 87-1 (Karunaratne 34, Chandimal 35)

29th over: Sri Lanka 87-1 (Karunaratne 34 , Chandimal 35) Lyon back on just before lunch, he rattles through a maiden. We’ll have one more before lunch.

28th over: Sri Lanka 87-1 (Karunaratne 34 , Chandimal 35) Cooper Connolly is summoned for his first bowl in Test cricket. Serviceable action but no great turn on the ball. He drops a couple short but manages to drift a few too. Deep breaths young man. Three off the over.

27th over: Sri Lanka 84-1 (Karunaratne 32 , Chandimal 34) Careful Dimuth! Karunaratne drives uppishly off Webster, gets three runs for it but it wasn’t very far from Labuschagne lurking in the covers.

Dimuth sounds like a town in Minnesota. Wait, maybe I’m thinking of the home town of one Robert Zimmerman?

26th over: Sri Lanka 79-1 (Karunaratne 27, Chandimal 32) Kuhnemann replaces Lyon, another change of ends for him. Each batter content to soak up a few balls and flick in the gap to pick up a single.

25th over: Sri Lanka 77-1 (Karunaratne 27, Chandimal 32) Chandimal gets a thick edge off Webster and the ball flies away safely for four runs. Ten minutes to lunch, Sri Lanka’s session so far but that could change with a wicket.

24th over: Sri Lanka 71-1 (Karunaratne 27, Chandimal 27) Lyon into his ninth over of the morning. He’s got the one wicket to fall so far this morning.

Breaking News: Hearing that Marcus Stoinis has announced his retirement from ODI cricket effective immediately. That is a shock. More as we get it. He was in Australia’s Champions Trophy squad.

Marcus Stoinis has called time on his ODI career #SLvAUS #ChampsTrophy https://t.co/XQ6s5p8Tv7

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) February 6, 2025

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23rd over: Sri Lanka 69-1 (Karunaratne 26, Chandimal 26) Webster chugs in, medium pace at about 125kph. Would probably get me and thee out. Military medium. Karunaratne clips a single and a front foot no-ball makes it two off the over as Chandimal blocks out the rest. Attritional stuff.

22nd over: Sri Lanka 67-1 (Karunaratne 25, Chandimal 26) Karunaratne guides a single past point. Close! Chandimal nearly plinks a flick into the leg side straight to Beau Webster at short midwicket but the ball dies on the turf just before it reaches the big man. Webster is now going to come on for his first bowl in the series by the looks of it.

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