Chandimal continued Sri Lanka’s incredible fightback after they were reduced to 26 for five on the first morning and took the hosts to 299-7 at lunch with his seventh test century.
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“It was a tough time before I went to bat”.
Australia were only handed the ceremonial mace that the International Cricket Council awards the top-ranked Test team at the start of the series and allrounder Mitchell Marsh admitted it would be a bitter blow if they had to hand it back so soon.
There were nervous moments for Marsh, balls that turned past the bat, a big lbw review late in the day that showed the ball pitching outside leg, an edge that flew just past Kaushal Silva at silly point.
After settling at the crease, De Silva and Chandimal counter-attacked against an aggressive Australian onslaught who kept pushing hard by rotating their bowling options.
However he came out to bowl during the Australia innings. But that was the case, for after those first five wickets tumbled in roughly an hour, the next 11 hours of the Test have brought only five more.
A dicey Chandimal nearly threw his wicket away twice in the following over to Jon Holland, who soon after got his first wicket of the tour as Dilruwan Perera (16) miscued to extra cover, but Rangana Herath and Chandimal continued to take the game further away from Australia. However, Smith is the youngest Australia batsman to the milestone, at 27 years and 73 days, shaving Ricky Ponting’s record by 265 days.
For close to the next 74 overs in the day, Australia could not separate the pair as they added 188 for the sixth wicket with the hosts reaching 214 for five at the close, with De Silva 116 not out and Chandimal unbeaten on 64.
He and Smith, however, did enjoy good fortune, for Marsh was dropped at short leg on 15, and Smith at silly point on 30.
Australia’s Steve Smith celebrates a rare half century for Australian batters during their current test series against Sri Lanka.
Dilruwan Perera was out for 16 when he lofted a Jon Holland delivery to Lyon at long-off.
Play was later temporarily halted after an eye-watering moment when Herath was hit flush in the midriff and retired hurt. However, in the fourth over, Warner was caught behind off de Silva (1-20).
Skipper Steve Smith came into this series, not having lost a single game since taking over the captaincy of the Australian test squad.
Smith’s 108-ball stay was laced with five boundaries and a six.
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Their condition is that much poor of Australian batsman that neither of them has managed to score a fifty in this series.
