Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc set the tone with early strikes before the spinners – Lyon in particular – made further inroads. “You have got to be able to bat well into the next day and that’s the focus for us, adapting to these conditions”, Warner said.
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Also on Monday, Smith received the ICC Test championship mace and prizemoney of $US1 million ($A1.34 million) for Australia claiming the No.1 Test ranking by the April 1 cut-off date.
“He’s a big strong lad and he plays best when he’s looking to hit the ball”, Smith said.
“It’s always a different game when you get in front of the game and there’s a bit of pressure on the batters to score runs and play with guys around the bat and those kinds of things”.
A police official said they pressed charges in part because his actions had hurt the sensibilities of Buddhist priests in Kandy, home to one of Sri Lanka’s holiest shrines, the Temple of the Tooth.
The Sri Lankan legend, who is the highest wicket-taker in Test cricket with 800 scalps, is now assisting Australian spin bowlers prepare for the Test series.
Murali’s work as a spin-bowling consultant ended on the eve of the Test, as he did not want to be seen in Australia’s dressingroom during the series.
They have a solid and settled team after the mass retirements of 2015. The spinners bowled well on that wicket that offered them up and down bounce.
Angelo Mathews’ side, who lost their last two Test series in New Zealand and England, are reeling from injuries to their fast bowlers.
Left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe, who was included alongside Lyon, was brought on in the ninth over by Australia captain Steve Smith and he was rewarded when he dismissed Mathews.
After the match in Pallekele, the second Test will be held in Galle from August 4-8 and the third will be in Colombo from August 13-17.
“It looks pretty dry at this stage, and lots of cracks down the wicket, so it could certainly could take some spin in the first innings as well.”
Playing without the likes of Kumar Sangakara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka have won just a single game against Test-playing opposition, a T20 against India back in February 2016. David Warner and Steve Smith are scoring centuries at a faster rate per Test than nearly any in the game’s history.
Just when Sri Lanka sensed an opening, Usman Khawaja (25 not out) and Steven Smith (28 not out) rallied together and shared an unbeaten 59-run stand, taking Australia to 66 for two at tea.
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Dhananjaya de Silva, who got off the mark in his test debut with a six, top-scored for Sri Lanka with 24 from 38 balls.
