Inglis nursing an injury
By Daniel Brettig
Nathan McSweeney is back out there this morning as a sub fielder for Josh Inglis, who was struggling with a back issue yesterday and did nothing in warmups this morning.
This means Inglis will have to move down the order from his allotted No.5 position.
Meanwhile, Kusal Mendis sweeps Lyon beautifully for four and moves to 77. Is he a sneaky chance of a hundred?
Australia have lost a review. Lyon thinks he might have Mendis caught sharply down the leg side by Alex Carey up to the stumps but replays show nothing to overturn the not out decision on the field.
Sri Lanka 9-249
Nathan Lyon sends one down in Galle. Credit: Getty Images
Play is under way in Galle
Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Kumara are out in the middle for the home side and Nathan Lyon is set to send down his 31st over.
Four runs. Mendis sweeps an ordinary Lyon delivery, pitched well outside the leg stump, down to the boundary. Can’t afford that. Australia are desperate for this last wicket as quickly as possibly.
Sri Lanka 9-234
Brettig: It’s a pristine morning in Galle
Another pristine morning in Galle and there is an expectation that the pitch will make life increasingly difficult for batting on day two.
Sri Lanka’s spinners wrestled with a slower surface than they were used to in the first Test, due to a decidedly damp lead-up to the game, but this strip is drier and dustier with more potential for the ball to pop.
“I just think it’s going to be a tricky wicket all the way along,” Australia’s assistant coach Dan Vettori said.
“Obviously [off-spinner Ramesh] Mendis has a lot of experience bowling here, and [Prabath] Jayasuriya so they’ve got the capabilities to come really hard at us with their bowling group. Dhananjaya [De Silva] looked like he was bowling this morning as well, so that’s a really well-rounded group of spinners who know these conditions as well.
“We anticipate it’s going to be difficult the whole way through.”
Alex Carey of Australia speaks with bowling coach Daniel Vettori ahead of play on day two. Credit: Getty Images
Day one match report from Galle
By Daniel Brettig
Australia’s three specialist bowlers had to sweat while holding Sri Lanka to 9-229, as debutant Cooper Connolly bowled just three overs on day one of his Test career.
A masterful spell by Nathan Lyon (3-78) and some reverse swing from Mitchell Starc (3-37) had threatened to corner the Sri Lankans on a dry but equable Galle surface that played better on day one than the tourists had expected.
But Dinesh Chandimal dug in to prevent a rout reminiscent of the first Test, where neither innings made it to 55 overs. Lyon and Matt Kuhnemann have already bowled 60 between them.
After Kuhnemann (2-53) twirled past Chandimal for an excellent Alex Carey stumping early in the final session, the tourists were grateful for Starc and the second new ball to snuff out a lower-order stand by Kusal Mendis (59 not out) and Ramesh Mendis.
Even so, the balance of the Australian side will have to be weighed up against how they fare with the bat on a pitch that is already much drier and potentially more treacherous than the one on which the visitors piled up 654 last week. Josh Inglis was off the field for a chunk of the day with back soreness.
READ THE FULL RECAP FROM DANIEL BRETTIG HERE
Mitchell Starc celebrates the wicket of Prabath Jayasuriya.Credit: Getty Images
How does the match play out from here?
Hello and welcome
G’day cricket fans.
Welcome back to our live coverage of today’s second Test between Australia and Sri Lanka.
It’s Tom Decent logged on at the Coogee bureau. We’ve got Daniel Brettig on deck in Galle, fresh off surviving a hat-trick ball in a media match earlier in the week. Happy to swing back to that later if need be.
Play begins at 3.30pm AEDT.
Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal, left, and Kusal Mendis bump fists during the first day of the second Test.Credit: AP