Steve Smith continues to be superhuman in the field after an Australian collapse, as Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne says his final goodbye to Test cricket.
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Here are the quick hits from day three of the second Test.
1. One brings two
Sri Lanka bowled 55 overs straight without a wicket on day two. On day three, it took less than five overs to break through. Twice.
After 253 balls of brilliance, the 254th claimed Steve Smith as he feathered a catch through to Kusal Mendis.
Two balls later, Prabath Jayasuriya was surely feeling a whole lot better about his innings when he had Josh Inglis bowled for a duck.
Prabath Jayasuriya picked up a five-wicket haul early on day three as Sri Lanka sparked an Australian collapse. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Suddenly, Sri Lanka had a sniff of running through the lower order and there was a hint of pressure applied to the tourists.
Jayasuriya tripled up a short time later, removing Alex Carey as his excellent morning spell got Sri Lanka back into the contest.
2. Australia collapses
Australia’s first-innings score of 414 looks good. In fact, it is good.
But, when you consider Steve Smith and Alex Carey combined for 287 runs (30 more than Sri Lanka’s total), the tourists’ lead of 157 suggests a fair bit was left on the table.
It has proven a tricky pitch to start on, and so it proved on day three.
The Australian wickets came thick and fast after Steve Smith was dismissed by Prabath Jayasuriya early on day three. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Josh Inglis, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann all failed to get out of single digits as the last seven Australian wickets fell for just 64 runs.
Of the seven Australian wickets to fall on the morning of day three, five of them were bowled.
After struggling with the ball in the first Test, Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s chief destroyer on day three, finishing with the 11th five-wicket haul of his career.
3. Karunaratne’s final farewell
Dimuth Karunaratne’s hopes of a fairytale ending to his career were ended when he was caught behind for 14 off Matthew Kuhnemann.
Karunaratne looked fluent before reaching for a wide delivery from Kuhnemann, which he feathered through to Carey.
He reviewed the decision immediately, but ultra edge confirmed the nick.
After the decision was confirmed by the TV umpire, Karunaratne was given a standing ovation from the small crowd in attendance.
The Australians also gave him applause and he received a hug from his long-time teammate Dinesh Chandimal before walking off the ground.
Karunaratne retires with 7,222 runs in 100 Tests, the fourth-most by any Sri Lankan men’s player and the most by a men’s opener.
4. Another Smith wonder catch
After tea, the ball was soft, the pitch had calmed and the partnership of Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva was frustrating Australia.
The former captain and current captain looked the keys to taking Sri Lanka towards and perhaps beyond Australia’s 157-run lead from the first innings before another skipper prised them apart.
Matt Kuhnemann pitched on off and spun down the line. Dhananjaya had no choice but to play at it, and caught the outside edge of his forward defence.
He played with soft hands, so the ball went almost directly down, but Steve Smith was Johnny on the spot.
He flung his right hand forward and snaffled a stunning reflex catch at first slip, backing up his bowlers as he has done so many times before (197 times to be exact) in Test matches for Australia.
5. False starts continue to burn Sri Lanka
Starting an innings on a pitch like Galle can be tough — balls turn, skid on, stay low, leap up — and getting the pace can take time.
But Sri Lanka’s batters seemed to be OK early doors, then just found ways to get out.
On 19 occasions across four innings in this series, Sri Lankan batters have faced at least 30 balls in their innings. Only five of those were converted into half-centuries (including a second-innings slog-fest by now-dropped number 10 Jeffrey Vandersay), and none of them reached tons. Kusal Mendis, who reached stumps unbeaten on 48 is set to be the sixth player to convert a start into a half-century.
On pitches where multiple Australian batters have proven once you’re in you can go big, getting set and then suddenly losing focus is inexcusable, especially on your home turf.
