KANDY: A stunning century by emerging Sri Lankan strokemaker Kusal Mendis ended early on day four but Australia still faced a daunting task if they were to claim victory in the first Test.
\nResuming with a lead of 196 and four wickets in hand, the hosts pushed that advantage to 267 before they were dismissed for 353 after lunch at the Pallekele Stadium.
\nJosh Hazlewood appeals for the dismissal of Rangana Herath.
\nhe tourists faced a potentially rugged challenge to win, for history has shown they have only once successfully chased more than 200 on the sub-continent, that being against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2006.
\nThat challenge only grew when, in the second over, David Warner stepped down the wicket to left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and was bowled, having played over the top of the delivery. It completed a miserable match for the Australian vice-captain, who was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, having only recently proven he had recovered from a broken finger. When Usman Khawaja also fell cheaply, Australia was 2-33.
\nThe ilky Mendis began the day unbeaten on 169 but he had managed only seven more runs when he prodded at a wide delivery from intimidating paceman Mitch Starc and feathered an edge to gloveman Peter Nevill.
\nAustralia had wanted to take the second new ball late on Saturday but was denied this when Mendis and Dilruwan Perera accepted an offer from the umpires to leave because of poor light.
\nThe tourists have been destructive with the new ball through this match, and so it proved when Mendis’ fine knock came to an end – but not before he had posted the highest ever Test score on this ground.
\nIt as also the second-highest knock by a Sri Lankan against Australia, falling just short of Kumar Sangakkara’s 192 in Hobart almost nine years ago.
\nThe son of a three-wheeler driver in Colombo, and with only one first-class ton to his name before this match-turning conquest, Mendis appears set to be a long-term plank of Sri Lanka’s rebuild.
\nMendis was hailed on Saturday as the next-generation Mahela Jayawardene, the former champion Sri Lankan captain, by another local great, Aravinda de Silva.
\nJayawardene, for his part, had said on social media that the hosts needed to add 75 more runs to their overnight score “to win this Test”. They would add 71.
\nHaving torpedoed Sri Lanka for 117 on the opening day, a loss here would be a major psychological blow for the Australians, who had enjoyed an extended warm-up for this series.
\nTheir own poor first-innings let the hosts back into the game, and they capitalised. With a spin-friendly wicket of Galle awaiting next week, followed by what typically is a flat deck in Colombo, Australia faces a major fight to improve their recent poor record on the sub-continent.
\nIt was delayed start to the day because of the threat of rain and, when play finally began, it lasted only 50 minutes before rain fell.
\nAustralia’s frustration had been exacerbated when what looked to be their second wicket of the day – when umpire Richard Kettleborough upheld Josh Hazlewood’s lbw appeal against Herath – was overturned. The Sri Lankan had called for a review, and rightfully so for this found the delivery had pitched outside of leg and may have even cleared the top of the stumps.
\nOnce the clouds dispersed, Hazlewood was again in the action when he had Dilruwan playing across the line, and trapped lbw. He, too, reviewed but this time replays showed the delivery would have clipped leg stump.
\nStarc remained a menacing threat, and Lakshan Sandakan, the hero with the ball earlier in the match, had no intention of getting his body behind any rising delivery.
\nHe swiped two boundaries before he was dismissed in comical fashion, having backed away to leg, only for Starc to follow him, and the ball to rebound and trickle onto his stumps.
\nBowling coach coach Allan Donald said pre-match Starc was the world’s best quick. The left-armer’s efforts, certainly with the new ball, endorsed this claim.
\nSri Lanka’s fightback ended when Herath was brilliantly caught by substitute fieldsman Moises Henriques off Hazlewood. Herath had thumped six boundaries, providing crucial runs and extending Australia’s agony.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KANDY: A stunning century by emerging Sri Lankan strokemaker Kusal Mendis ended early on day four but Australia still faced a daunting task if they were to claim victory in the first Test. Resuming with a lead of 196 and four wickets in hand, the hosts pushed that advantage to 267 before they were dismissed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":210,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n