The Australians will be led by Steve Smith with David Warner as his deputy.
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In reply, Sri Lankan bowlers made a brilliant start, removing the opening duo of David Warner and Joe Burns within no time.
The bad news is that there is a high chance of thunderstorms forecast for the first four days of the first Test. The two men in the middle after the dismissals were Adam Voges and Mitchell Marsh.
His seam bowling, meanwhile, has become a genuine weapon.
There was no let up from Australia and Sri Lanka’s first innings was wrapped up inside 35 overs, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon taking three wickets apiece.
The profligacy of this move, not lost on Smith as he seethed back to the dressing room intently studying his feet, was exposed when replacement batter Adam Voges was very almost adjudged (on review) lbw to Herath the next ball.
Ill feeling escalated ahead of the first Test starting on Tuesday when a rumour circulated that Muralitharan was responsible for securing a spin-friendly wicket to help Australia adapt in last week’s practice match at his home ground P Sara Oval.
Not sure about the first innings, but it looks very dry and lots of cracks on it.
No fewer than 12 wickets fell in the first two sessions as Sri Lanka won the toss but then failed to build any momentum with the bat, although the cheap removal of Australia’s openers will have raised some cheer in the dressing room before the tourists closed on 66-2. “Anyone is allowed to do any job”, Mathews said the day before the match.
“I guess we never really got in that kind of position so we never saw that side of Stephen”. We’ve named the trophy Murali-Warne Trophy. Even if the charge seems unlikely, there are mutterings among Sri Lankan management about an inquiry.
The pitch won’t matter, though, if the local players can’t stand up.
He said he was never seriously approached by Sri Lanka Cricket for a mentoring role ever since he retired in 2011. At the World Twenty20 and on tour in England, the team has looked to be more hole than remainder.
The 38-year-old Herath, who has hinted that he may soon retire from Test cricket, was the pick of the bowlers and was unlucky not to record a five-wicket haul.
“We made the most of that, and hopefully, we do again in the second innings”.
“Looking back to the UAE tour (against Pakistan in 2014), we bowled first on both of those occasions and were behind the game quite often”, Smith said. “Dhammika Prasad and Dushmantha Chameera – two of our key seam bowlers”.
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SRI LANKA: Angelo Mathews (capt), Dinesh Chandimal, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Janith Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Roshen Silva, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Suranga Lakmal.
