AUS 330/3 (Carey 139*, Smith 120*; Peiris 2/70) lead SL 257 (Kusal 85*, Chandimal 74; Starc 3/37) by 73 runs
Overnight batter Kusal Mendis continued with his sweeping masterclass to begin Day 2 on a positive note for Sri Lanka and together with Lahiru Kumara added 28 runs to the team total before the latter inevitably fell victim to Matt Kuhnemann, thus ending a 26-ball vigil.
Travis Head and Usman Khawaja kicked off Australia’s pursuit in the same fashion that had earned them a record victory in the previous encounter as the former dispatched Kumara for three boundaries in two overs to force Nishan Peiris into the attack along with Dhananjaya de Silva. The decision worked a charm as another charge down the track from Head ended the bowler’s way this time around and a simple catch at slip earned Lanka the first breakthrough for 32 runs. However, Marnus Labuschagne looked set to keep the pressure on by creaming his first ball through covers but his stay was short-lived courtesy a quicker arm-ball from Prabath Jayausriya that slid through and trapped the batter plumb. With the pitch playing significantly quicker than the previous day and Lunch not too far away, Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith joined hands to stabilize the innings and effortlessly saw off the spinners for 48 runs before the session ended at 85/2.
Reinvigorated, Lanka tried to rein back momentum after Lunch with just six runs coming off the first 22 balls, and ultimately succeeded when a quicker short delivery from Peiris skid under Khawaja’s bat to send him packing for 36. A back niggle for Josh Inglis meant it was Alex Carey’s turn to arrive at the crease and the wicket-keeper grasped at his promotion with both hands. Together with Smith, he put up a sweeping exhibition, playing everything from the slog and reverse to conventional and fine sweeps while his more experienced counterpart kept gliding down the track to smack the ball down the ground or through the off-side. The hosts quickly lost steam as long hops and wild full deliveries became more frequent, allowing Smith to cruise past 70 with the stand reading 106 by the time Tea was called at 197/3.
With the first run of the third session, Carey himself brought up a quickfire half-century off just 68 balls and showed no signs of stepping even as he marched towards a ton. Smith, meanwhile, kept making records tumble at the other end, surpassing Ricky Ponting for most Test runs by an Australian on Asian soil and soaring to fifth on the overall list for non-Asians. With a pull off Kamindu Mendis through midwicket, the legend brought up his 36th Test ton equalling Rahul Dravid and Joe Root, and his fourth in the last five Tests. A little over five overs later, it was Carey’s turn to leap in joy and take off the helmet as he brought up the three figure mark in style with two boundaries off Jayasuriya, having also dispatched Jayasuriya for a maximum in the previous over. As the day wore on, the exhaustion and frustration increasingly took its toll on the hosts and almost seemed relievd when Carey clipped Lahiru on the last ball of the day with the 239-run partnership still intact.
Fake fielding
— jithesh (@jithesh1569353) February 7, 2025
Steve Smith the 1st Test player with 200+ run partnerships with 11 different batters
Michael Clarke
Shaun Marsh
Chris Rogers
Adam Voges
Joe Burns
Mitch Marsh
Marnus Labuschagne
David Warner
Usman Khawaja
Travis Head
ALEX CAREY
Ricky Ponting prev record holder with 10
#SLvAUS— Swamp (@sirswampthing) February 7, 2025
What an avg
Steve Smith is currently averaging 57.00 in Tests. Among 215 batters in Test history who have batted at least 100 times, just five have an average of 57.00 or more. Smith 57.00, Sangakkara 57.40, Sobers 57.78, Hammond 58.45 and Barrington 58.67. #SLvAus
— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) February 7, 2025
Hate it
Joel Wilson Hates Australia how on earth do you give that out. #SLvsAUS pic.twitter.com/xcUJ7c62mY
— Coach lukas (@lukeR15sky) February 7, 2025
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 vs Australia 🇦🇺 2nd Test, Galle
Day 2 stumps: Australia 330-3, lead 73 runs with 7 wickets in hand. Alex Carey 139*(156) and Steve Smith 120*(239). The day belongs to Australia. #ausvsl pic.twitter.com/56e6jcnMbA— Akaran.A (@Akaran_1) February 7, 2025
One & only
– 18 Hundreds in Australia.
– 8 Hundreds in England.
– 4* Hundreds in Sri Lanka.
– 3 Hundreds in India.
– 1 Hundred in New Zealand.
– 1 Hundred in South Africa.
– 1 Hundred in West Indies.
ONE & ONLY STEVE SMITH IN TEST CRICKET 🐐#ausvsl pic.twitter.com/tJrv51Yysy— Syed Saad (@s_saad2004) February 7, 2025
What a day!
Stumps on day two !
Australia – 3/330 (80.0)
Leading Sri Lanka by 73 runs
Steve Smith – 120* (239)
Alex Carey – 139* (156)
Nishan Peiris – 2/70 (21)
Prabath Jayasuriya – 1/107 (25)
Wow, what a day for Australia. We were promised a Galle pitch that was going to offer a lot… pic.twitter.com/lIMD6Q720R— Sujil Kallissery Hrx (@KallisserySujil) February 7, 2025
18 Hundreds in Australia.
– 8 Hundreds in England.
– 4* Hundreds in Sri Lanka.
– 3 Hundreds in India.
– 1 Hundred in New Zealand.
– 1 Hundred in South Africa.
– 1 Hundred in West Indies.
ONE & ONLY STEVE SMITH IN TEST CRICKET 🐐
Steve Smith🙏🙏🙏🥰🥰🥰 pic.twitter.com/pZ9ctHtlLv— Aryan Garg (@Aryangarg6249) February 7, 2025
Too weak
Sri Lanka batsman/bowlers too weak or Australia too good?
I think whatever doubt we had in first test should be resolved in 2 days of 2nd Test.
These two days of playing shows Sri Lanka’s Overconfidence in playing in Galle.#SLvAUS #ausvsl— ab_sumudu (@sumu_paz) February 7, 2025
Crazy
HUNDRED FOR ALEX CAREY..!!!!
He smashed hundred in just 118 balls against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in second Test Match – Alex Carey, A Underrated Test player for Australia. pic.twitter.com/fyuQD0YZ1p— Cric Lover (@cricloverforu) February 7, 2025
