Sri Lanka vs Australia

Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st Test, Day 2 Live Score Updates: Play Begins After Massive Rain Delay

SL vs AUS 1st Test, Day 2Live Updates: Play began on Day 2 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle after rain and inclement weather wiped out the first session. Session times are 1:45 to 3:45 and 4:05 to 6:00, with Tea to be taken between 3:45 and 4:05. Australia were 98/3 at the start of Day 2 after bowling the hosts out for 212. Nathan Lyon's 20th 5-wicket haul helped Australia bowl Sri Lanka out for a modest total despite Niroshan Dickwella's counter-attacking 58. The visitors then began strongly with the bat, but soon lost opener David Warner for 25 off 24 to Ramesh Mendis. Mendis then had his second wicket when he dismissed Marnus Labuschagne for 13. Sri Lanka got another breakthrough when a mix-up resulted in Steve Smith being run-out for 6. Usman Khawaja, however, has been steady for Australia, and was batting on 47 at Stumps on Day 1. Travis Head was the other batter at the crease

9:30 am local: Day 2 is upon us and it has started on a slightly bad note. Early morning rain in Galle and the entire ground is under covers. Hopefully, it will not be a lengthy spell and knowing how super efficient the Sri Lankan groundstaff are, we can hope for some play before lunch. Coming to the cricket, on a pitch designed for the spinners, it was the visiting duo of Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Swepson who out-bowled their home counterparts yesterday. Asked to bowl first, the visitors were first disciplined and then sliced through the hosts in the second and third sessions. There were quite a few starts, but only Niroshan Dickwella got past fifty, his almost run-a-ball 58 ensuring that Sri Lanka went past 200. The visitors however will be disappointed at some of the soft dismissals that followed, particularly of Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, as they ended the first day at 98 for 3, still 114 runs adrift of Sri Lanka's 212.

17:31 Local Time, 12:01 GMT, 17:31 IST -- Stumps: 13 wickets fell in the day and it is Australia who are slightly ahead. Sri Lanka won a good toss but were bowled out for 212. Dickwella being the standout batter as his counterattacking fifty is what took them to a respectable total. The Australian spinners bowled superbly as they picked 8 wickets in total with Nathan Lyon recording his 20th five-for. Warner came all guns blazing and tried to replicate Dickwella's counterattacking style but he didn't last long. Labuschange threw his wicket away while Smith was sold down the river. Khawaja has looked good and he holds the key for Australia just like he did in Pakistan. Sri Lanka have only 114 runs in the bank and have to make sure Australia don't get a big lead. This dustbowl is not going to last five days and by tomorrow we should have a clear idea which way the match is heading. Do tune in for day two. Until then, goodbye and stay safe..

Sri Lanka vs Australia 1st Test: Nathan Lyon equals Shane Warne record with five-wicket haul in Galle

This was Nathan Lyon’s 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket which places him alongside New Zealand great Daniel Vettori and South Africa legend Allan Donald in the 22nd spot in the all-time list.

It was a good day for Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon as he claimed 5/90 on the Day 1 of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle on Wednesday (June 29). Lyon’s five-wicket haul helped the visitors bundle out Dimuth Karunaratne-led side for 212 in the first innings. The latest fifer for Lyon came 11 years after his maiden five-wicket haul at the same venue 11 years back and helped his equal the legendary Shane Warne’s world record.

This was Lyon’s 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket which places him alongside New Zealand great Daniel Vettori and South Africa legend Allan Donald in the 22nd spot in the all-time list and stands third among active cricketers after James Anderson of England (31) and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (30). Nine of those 20 five-wicket hauls have come on Asian soil, which places him right on top of the charts of visiting spinners in the continent with most five-wicket hauls. He stands alongside Warne, who had nine such figures in 22 appearances in Asia.

Lyon also went past Sir Richard Hadlee in the all-time wicket-taking list to stand 12th in the list with his tally of 432 wickets in 109 Tests. He now stands three wicket away from surpassing Rangana Herath (433) and Kapil Dev (434) and enter the top-10 list.

Lyon on Wednesday said the opening Test in Galle was balanced after his five-wicket haul helped bowl out Sri Lanka for 212 but the hosts made a comeback as they bagged three wickets on day one of the first match of the two-match Test series here at Galle International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. On the very first ball of his spell, Lyon got an excessive amount of turn and bounce from the surface, leaving Sri Lankan batters surprised.