Australia were soothed by the sight of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith settling in for long stays at Galle. | By Daneil Brettig cricket
No Glenn Maxwell, no spitting spin, no treacherous variable bounce, no spectators atop the Galle fort, and no – at least on current evidence – three-day Test match.
At the other end, Smith fashioned bespoke answers to the questions being posed by Sri Lanka’s bowlers, carefully building into his work in an innings that was given added gravitas by the memory of his run out and reaction last week. He gave not the ghost of a chance. Khawaja, who swept and danced down the pitch so well in the first Test, here seemed to moderate his method for a less capricious surface. But in doing so he allowed Ramesh Mendis to work at finding a way past.
Pivotally, in the over after Khawaja’s exit, Labuschagne advanced to Mendis and was beaten by an off-break that did not spin. Niroshan Dickwella, however, missed the chance. In commentary, Brad Haddin reckoned Dickwella had assumed Labuschagne would hit the ball, raised his eyes too soon, and lost track of the ball.
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