Steve Smith's brilliance in the field and Dimuth Karunaratne's farewell to Test cricket mark a dramatic day three in the second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka.
Steve Smith continued his superhuman displays in the field as Australia suffered a dramatic collapse on day three of the second Test against Sri Lanka. Dimuth Karunaratne, meanwhile, brought his illustrious Test career to a poignant end. Sri Lanka's bowlers toiled for 55 overs straight on day two without a wicket. However, the breakthrough came swiftly on day three, with Steve Smith the first to fall after 254 balls of defiance, caught behind off Prabath Jayasuriya.
Two balls later, Josh Inglis was dismissed for a duck, further accelerating Sri Lanka's hopes of dismantling Australia's innings. Jayasuriya struck again, removing Alex Carey, who had shared a monumental 287-run partnership with Smith, leaving Australia's lead at 157. Despite the significant partnership, the remaining Australian batsmen faltered, falling for just 64 runs as Jayasuriya claimed his 11th five-wicket haul in Test cricket. Dimuth Karunaratne's final innings ended on 14 when he was caught behind off Matthew Kuhnemann, bringing his decorated Test career to a close after 100 matches. Karunaratne received a standing ovation from the crowd and was embraced by his long-time teammate Dinesh Chandimal before leaving the field. The former captain retires with 7,222 runs, the fourth-highest by any Sri Lankan men's player. Karunaratne's final Test saw a shift in momentum as Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva frustrated Australia's bowlers. However, Kuhnemann ended the promising partnership when Dhananjaya edged a delivery to Steve Smith at first slip. The match continues as Sri Lanka look to capitalize on the early wickets and chase down Australia's first innings total. Sri Lanka's batters have struggled to convert starts in this series, with only five half-centuries across four innings. Kusal Mendis, who reached stumps unbeaten on 48, has the opportunity to become the sixth player to convert a start into a half-century
STEVE SMITH DIMUTH KARUNARATNE SRI LANKA AUSTRALIA TEST CRICKET PRABATH JAYASURIYA MATTHEW KUHNEMANN ALEX CAREY GALLE
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