Usman Khawaja’s maiden Test double hundred, mixed with stunning centuries from Steve Smith and Josh Inglis, put Australia in command of the first Test match in Galle. It was a complete demolition of hosts Sri Lanka on Day 2 as Australia not only posted their highest-ever total in Asia (654/6d), but also wiped out three of Sri Lanka’s wickets late in the final session.
Mitchell Starc, and the spin bowling duo of Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon, picked one wicket each, reducing Sri Lanka to 44/3 at the end of Day 2’s play. Before the bowlers ran through the top-order of Sri Lanka’s batting unit, the hosts had to toil hard for 154 overs to dismiss the Australian run-scorers.
Usman Khawaja scored the first double century of his career, batting for nearly seven and a half hours. Khawaja hit a patient innings of 232 in 352 balls, which was laced with 16 fours and a six. Khawaja found company in Steve Smith (141), and then in debutant Josh Inglis (102) on Thursday, helping Australia reach a mammoth 654/6d.
Steve Smith, who became the 15th man and fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Test runs on Day 1, pushed on to a masterful 141 off 251 balls. His 266-run stand with Usman Khawaja stands as the highest third-wicket partnership in Tests between the teams. They eclipsed the previous best stand of 200 between Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn in Kandy in 2004.
Australia found help from their middle and lower-middle order as well, with Alex Carey (46*), Beau Webster (23), and Mitchell Starc (19*), guiding the visitors to a daunting total.
Coming out to bat with a little over an hour’s play left in the day, Sri Lanka fumbled hard in Galle. Fatigue kicked in after standing in the sun for nearly two days straight, and the hosts offered minimal resistance with the bat.
Off-spinner Matthew Kuhnemann trapped Oshada Fernando (7) plumb in front of the stumps with a ball that pitched on the leg stump and turned away from the right-hander, hitting him on the middle.
Former captains Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews didn’t last long either, both victims of Australia’s exceptional fielding. Karunaratne fell on 7 to a spectacular catch at gully off Mitchell Starc, and Mathews was dismissed for 7 in stunning fashion — caught off bat-pad to Nathan Lyon’s off-spin.
Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis weathered some testing moments to reach stumps as Sri Lanka remain precariously placed at 610 runs down with three days to go on a deteriorating pitch.
