Sri Lanka has not been able to stand strong against the baggy greens as Australians took 6 wickets in quick succession and the only man who is left to be dependent in the host team is Niroshan Dickwella.
Having played 50 Test matches in his career, Dickwella stands with utmost confidence to a well-deserved fifty in just 42 balls. He understands that Sri Lanka is way behind the target score they desired but Niroshan’s attacking attitude can be beneficial to the team.
Sri Lanka scored 188 runs at the loss of 6 wickets, with Dickwella completing his fifty runs by the end of the 51st over.
Captain’s speech during the toss:
Pat Cummins; We were looking to bat first as well. We have managed to put up a XI (laughs). Thankfully, Travis has pulled up well and is playing. Two seamers, two spinners and a couple of spinning all-rounders. Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Swepson are the bowlers playing. It is weird seeing him (Hazlewood) seating on the bench, he is a world-class bowler but we have gone with Starc.
Dimuth Karunaratne: We are going to bat first. We know how the pitch is going to behave on days 4 and 5, so we want to take advantage of the conditions. Vandersay is playing. We are playing one seamer and three spinners.
Playing XI for both the teams:
Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Pat Cummins(c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne(c), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Embuldeniya, Asitha Fernando
