Kusal Mendis, Karunaratne lead SL’s solid reply after Jayasuriya’s six-for
Sri Lanka’s tremendous fightback unfolded against the backdrop of major anti-government protests in the country
Sri Lanka fight back after Australia fold for 364
Sri Lanka 184 for 2 (Kusal Mendis 84*, Karunaratne 86) trail Australia 364 (Smith 145*, Labuschagne 104, Jayasuriya 6-118) by 180 runs
There needed to be no reminder of the bigger, and far more important, picture playing out in Sri Lanka but on a day of extraordinary scenes around the country the cricketers managed to focus on their task at hand and put together a tremendous fightback against Australia.
It started by removing Australia’s last five wickets for 35 runs, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya finishing with the second-best figures by a Sri Lankan on Test debut. Then captain Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis built a stand of 152 in 46 overs, Sri Lanka’s highest second-wicket partnership against Australia, before Karunaratne fell 14 runs short of a century to Mitchell Swepson. At the close, Kusal was within 16 of his second Test hundred against Australia.
It all unfolded against the backdrop of major anti-government protests at the ongoing economic crisis in the country. Protesters in Galle were prevented from travelling to Colombo for the main rally as the government blocked public transport and fuel sales.
Crowds quickly swelled and marched around the stadium before making their way to the iconic Galle Fort which had been closed to everyone following the forced removal of protesters during the opening Test. By the lunch interval, the protest had relocated outside the gates of the ground and during the afternoon session grew in size and noise.
Australia have been very aware of the bigger picture throughout this tour and before play Pat Cummins posted a video on social media in association with UNICEF where he spoke to two young female cricketers about the impact of the crisis.
On the field as the game continued, Sri Lanka turned the tables on Australia in a manner that had appeared unlikely. Taking the lottery out of the contest by producing a more even surface has, so far, worked although they will not want to concede a first-innings lead as batting last is still unlikely to be a comfortable task.
Australia’s early breakthrough came courtesy of a brilliant catch in the gully by Cameron Green who leapt full-stretch to his left to grab Pathum Nissanka’s outside edge off Mitchell Starc. Karunaratne would have been run out on 18 if Starc’s throw from mid-on had hit and, in the final over before tea, was given a life when he toe-ended a full toss back towards Swepson who couldn’t get into position in his follow through.
Prabath Jayasuriya continued his impressive debut, Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd Test, Galle, July 9, 2022
Prabath Jayasuriya continued his impressive debut•Barring those moments, though, the stand was largely untroubled with Kusal especially serene. The first boundary of the innings had not come until the 15th over amid early pressure from Australia’s bowlers, but the pair were then quick to latch onto anything loose, of which there were a number of offerings from Swepson’s first spell and a slightly off-colour Nathan Lyon who struggled to take a wicket