SL vs AUS | Smith-Carey tons bat Lanka out of the game despite early glimmer for hosts on Day 2

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.

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.

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

– 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

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