Sri Lanka are seen as weaker opponents, undermined by the retirements of several star names in the last two years.
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Persistent rain ensured no play was possible in the final session but Australia are firmly in the ascendancy in the first of the three-Test series following an accomplished performance in the field.
The early loss of Perera on the second day of the first Test was another bitter blow for the struggling hosts.
Sri Lanka have only just returned home from a disastrous tour of England where they failed to win any of their nine Tests and limited overs internationals.
The wicket at Pallekele Stadium was described as tacky by Hazlewood and Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews’ decision to bat first backfired big time.
The tourists head into the series well prepared after more than a fortnight of practice, including enjoying a strong win over the Board XI in Colombo. The Test-only players, such as batsmen Joe Burns and Adam Voges, also spent hours honing their craft on the specialist subcontinental pitches at the national training academy in Brisbane.
WHERE: Follow live on IndianExpress.com or broadcast on Ten Network. “They only want to employ foreign coaches and pay them in dollars”, Muralitharan said.
“We don’t know too much about these guys, we haven’t played them a lot, especially our bowlers, so we’ve worked out a few little things here and there in that innings, and we’ll look to keep on top of them with those plans throughout the whole series”. He needs five wickets to become the only Australian finger spinner in nearly 140 years of Test cricket to reach 200 Test wickets.
While Herath was providing captain Angelo Mathews both the attacking and containing options, Sandakan ran through the lower order to finish with four for 58. But the deluge soon made it impossible for the match to resume, and the umpires called stumps early again.
Muralitharan said he got involved with Australia because he loved cricket and that Sri Lanka’s cricket board had sought help from him only once since his global retirement in 2011. “Sri Lanka has not tried to make use of my services, so I am helping the Australians who value my contributions”.
It was pointed out to Warner he had not notched a Test ton overseas since his 133 in Dubai in October 2014 but, as he replied, “It has been a while since I scored a hundred outside the country but also we haven’t really played that many Tests outside the country”.
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Although Australia have a clear lead over their main challengers, India, England and Pakistan could all theoretically topple them from the top spot if Smith’s lose against Sri Lanka and other results go against them. This impending series, which, as it stands, would pit the top two ranked nations, is one Smith’s men would particularly cherish.
