GALLE: Australia bowled out to Sri Lanka for 212 thanks to Nathan Lyon’s five-for, but the home team reacted on Wednesday by taking three wickets. Ramesh Mendis of Sri Lanka claimed two wickets at the picturesque Galle Stadium on a changing surface, including David Warner’s crucial dismissal for 25, to reduce the tourists to 98 for three at stumps. Following a mix-up with opener Usman Khawaja, who was unbeaten on 47 at the time, Steve Smith was run out on six and fled to the pavilion swinging his fists in disappointment. Khawaja and fellow left-handed player Travis Head were batting on six with Australia behind by 114 runs in their opening innings.
Mendis, an off-spinner, bowled Warner out for a duck after the left-handed opener blasted five boundaries in an aggressive stay at the wicket. Marnus Labuschagne was caught off a reverse sweep, but it was Smith’s wicket that enthralled the home audience. Khawaja turned him down for a quick single midway through the innings, and despite a frantic dive, he failed to make the crease. Khawaja fought until the end, surviving a missed stumping by wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella. Earlier, Dickwella batted defiantly for 58 before the Sri Lankan innings collapsed in the third session following the hosts’ decision to bat first in the two-match series opener. Lyon, who took his 20th five-wicket haul in Tests, teamed up with fellow spinner Mitchell Johnson.
Sri Lanka were 68-2 before the break, with fast bowlers Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc both taking a wicket. On a field that has traditionally benefited slow bowlers, the spinners swiftly grabbed control. During his 59-ball stay at the crease, Dickwella counter-attacked and put on crucial partnerships, most notably a 54-run stand with Mendis, who hit 22, for the seventh wicket.
