Intriguing days ahead in Test on absolute Galle turner

Nathan Lyon with the ball that he took five wickets in an innings for the 20th time in a Test

Niroshan Dickwella, who counter-attacked the Australian bowling, celebrates his fifty

• Spinners account for 10 of 13 wickets to fall on inspiring first day

On a typical Galle Cricket International Stadium surface where the ball spun and bounced making survival for the batsmen quite a tricky business, 13 wickets fell on the opening day of the first cricket Test played for the Warne-Muralitharan trophy yesterday. 

Sri Lanka winning the toss and batting first were spun out for 212 and Australia in reply were 98 for three wickets – one them due to a run out – a terrible mix-up between Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith, who had to make his way to the pavilion for six, fuming at his partner for selling him down the river.

Khawaja, continuing the form from where he left off in Pakistan, was undefeated on 47, and a lot depended on him if Australia were to gain a substantial lead on the first innings knowing they have to bat last. Batting with him was Travis Head, declared fit after a hamstring injury on six. Australia trail Sri Lanka by 114 and getting to those runs will by no means be an easy task. 

The manner in which Australia commenced their innings, it looked like they would wipe out more than half the runs of the Sri Lanka total by the close when David Warner went on the offensive from the very first over racing to 25 off 24 balls but once he was dismissed the run rate subsided and the Lankan spinners were able to gain control.

Off-spinner Ramesh Mendis in particular made life difficult for the batsmen picking up the wickets of Warner and Marnus Labuschagne (13) to end the day with two for 35 off 11 overs.

Sri Lanka’s batting collapse was triggered by spinners Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson who between them took eight wickets. Sri Lanka went to lunch at 68-2 with Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews, the two senior batsmen in the team at the wickets. The two wickets to fall in the first session were taken by the new ball bowlers Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins who accounted for Kusal Mendis (3) and Pathum Nissanka (23) respectively, both edging catches to wicket-keeper Alex Carey.

Lyon struck straight after the lunch break dismissing the Lankan captain for 28 and then Swepson struck in two balls to send back Dhananjaya de Silva (14) and Dinesh Chandimal (0) with perfect deliveries to be on a hat-trick.

Niroshan Dickwella not only survived the hat-trick ball but began a counter-attack to put the pressure back on the Australians, however he started to lose wickets from the other end.

Lyon picked up the big wicket of Mathews for 39 and despite brief resistance from Mendis (22) who helped Dickwella raise 54 for the seventh wicket, went onto take his 20th five-for on the ground where he first started with five wickets – 5 for 24 in 2011. Swepson took three.

Sri Lanka would have been in a worse plight if not for the resistance put up by Dickwella who’s 58 off 59 balls helped lift them from a perilous 97-5 to something from which their spinners could work on. 

Although Sri Lanka had captured three wickets, their spinners once again failed to be consistent with their lines and lengths, something which they have to work on if they are to keep Australia down to total within reasonable limits. Vandersay was handed his first Test cap at the age of 32 after appearing in 19 ODIs and 14 T20Is.