Australia's specialist bowlers, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, and Matt Kuhnemann, kept Sri Lanka in check on day one of the Galle Test, limiting them to 9-229. Lyon took 3-78, Starc 3-37, and Kuhnemann 2-53. Dinesh Chandimal anchored Sri Lanka's innings with a resolute performance, while Kusal Mendis (59*) and Ramesh Mendis added valuable runs in the lower order. Australia's selection of debutant Cooper Connolly as a spin-bowling all-rounder in place of Todd Murphy raised eyebrows, but the tourists will need to be wary of the drying pitch as they look to bat second.
Australia ’s three specialist bowlers had to sweat while holding Sri Lanka to 9-229, as debutant Cooper Connolly bowled just three overs on day one of his Test career.
Even so, the balance of the Australian side will have to be weighed up against how they fare with the bat on a pitch that is already much drier and potentially more treacherous than the one on which the visitors piled up 654 last week. Josh Inglis was off the field for a chunk of the day with back soreness.Connolly’s first spell of the day lasted two overs, and in the evening he bowled just one more, costing nine runs, before captain Steve Smith hooked him for Travis Head.
“We’re going to have to match whatever Sri Lanka do in this first innings and a little bit more, because batting is going to become more and more difficult. First innings runs are going to play a huge role in whoever wins this game.”Connolly, 21, received his cap from Simon Katich with the following encouragement – that the former opening batter would follow his ups and downs as closely as Richie Benaud once did his own after handing over his cap at Leeds in 2001.
Coincidentally, the last time Australia played just three specialist bowlers was on another occasion when they dropped Murphy, at Manchester in 2023, to bring back Cameron Green – a move that did not work. Dimuth Karunaratne, playing his 100th and last Test, was greeted by a massive guard of honour that the Australians courteously added to, and he played solidly alongside a chancier Chandimal up to lunch.
Cricket Test Match Australia Sri Lanka Galle Dinesh Chandimal Nathan Lyon Mitchell Starc Matt Kuhnemann Cooper Connolly Todd Murphy
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