Smith, Labuschagne century propel Australia on opening day

Driven by hundreds of years from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia posted 298 for 5 on the first day of the season in the subsequent Test, at the Galle International Stadium, on Friday. The couple exploited Sri Lanka’s contributions in genuinely testing conditions for batting, returning 109* and 104 separately.

Australia were in a difficult situation early, losing David Warner for 5 subsequent to choosing for bat. Warner was scattered by a Kasun raitha conveyance that calculated away from him from round the stumps, settling him, and inciting an external edge to the wicketkeeper.

Sri Lanka’s new ball pair – Rajitha and Ramesh Mendis – bowled testing lines, and on a pitch that was offering bob and turn, tried the Australian hitters for some time. In any case, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne discredited that by steady revolution of strike through the course of their 55-run association.

Mendis at last had the better of Khawaja, beating the external edge of his bat and raising a ruckus around town – finishing the in-structure southpaw’s innings on 37. Notwithstanding, Sri Lanka couldn’t gain by the circumstance. Mendis had even Labuschange deceived a couple of overs some other time when the batsman got out of wrinkle yet neglected to make an association with the ball. Be that as it may, Niroshan Dickwella bumbled behind the stumps and offered the Australia No 3 a day to day existence on 28.

He made the most of the open door and went in all out attack mode in the post Lunch meeting. It was a period where Sri Lankan bowlers couldn’t track down ways of upsetting the Australian third wicket pair and, what’s more, continued to offer simple runs. Both Smith and Labuschagne rushed to jump running free conveyances, a few of those approaching their direction – either excessively short or excessively full.

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Labuschagne raised his most memorable Test century from home while Smith proceeded to score up one more fifty, in what was a close to faultless execution in the second meeting as the team stretched out their organization to 134 preceding Labuschagne in the end fell. Prabath Jayasuriya, one of the three debutants in Sri Lanka’s XI for the Test, coaxed him out of his wrinkle, just for Dickwella to at long last have the player baffled on 104.

The sluggish left-armer kept on being the main danger for Australia as they faltered yet kept on excess in charge in the last meeting of the day. Indeed, even as Smith kept the scoreboard occupied with successive pivot of strike and an intermittent limits, Jayasuriya chipped away with the wickets of Travis Head and Chris Green. Head was bowled for 12 while attempting to play some unacceptable line, while Green was pronounced legbefore for 4, not long after Dickwella had botched another baffling an open door.

Smith played out the last thirty minutes securely, taking greater part of the negative mark against the left-armer prior to raising his 100 years with a breaking pass through additional cover off Rajitha. He went to stumps securely in the organization of Alex Carey, who stayed unbeaten on 16.

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