Categories: Cricket

Sri Lanka v Australia: first men’s cricket Test, day three – as it happened

Only 22 overs were possible on a rain-affected day that finished with Sri Lanka on 136 for 5, still 518 behind

20th over: Sri Lanka 66-3 (Chandimal 26, Mendis 15) Usman Khawaja didn’t field yesterday due to cramp. Fair enough too after he batted 503 minutes and 352 balls. Instead Nathan McSweeney was sent in his stead and took a superb juggling catch in the gully to dismiss Dimuth Karunaratne for 7. McSweeney is back out there this morning as Ussie guzzles pickle juice in the shade of the dressing-rooms. Three singles from this Lyon over as Sri Lanka’s batters stay busy.

19th over: Sri Lanka 63-3 (Chandimal 24, Mendis 14) Mendis plays an aggressive angled bat to Starc but can’t get past the man at gully. He tries to drive the third but it sprays off the inside edge. Good to see an aggressive approach from the Sri Lankans this morning. Chandimal and Mendis are brilliant batters, highly capable of big runs on home pitches and have each compiled their highest Test scores at Galle so why not? A Chandimal single and a leg bye in this over means Sri Lanka are now only 591 behind.

Source: Cricket - The Guardian