Sport crept its way back to the near top of the ratings table last night with the day one of the second test against Sri Lanka doing to numbers for Seven – despite an average of only 687,000, the night session recording an impressive total TV national reach of 1,823,000.
Australia turned up the heat—literally and figuratively—on day one of the second Test against Sri Lanka, reducing the hosts to a wobbly 229-9 by stumps. Despite Dinesh Chandimal’s 74 and Kusal Mendis’ 59, Sri Lanka’s hopes of a big first-innings total melted under Australia’s disciplined bowling and razor-sharp fielding. Even in the oppressive heat and humidity, the Aussie’s stuck to their game plan, proving too much for Sri Lanka’s middle order to handle.
Early on, Sri Lanka showed some fight, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Chandimal putting on a solid 70-run stand after the early loss of Pathum Nissanka. But once Nathan Lyon broke through Karunaratne’s defence, the floodgates opened.
The Sri Lankan middle order collapsed in dramatic fashion—even part-timer Travis Head got in on the action, snagging Kamindu Mendis in his first over. Chandimal looked rock solid for his 74, but when Matthew Kuhnemann drew him out of his crease for a lightning-fast stumping by Alex Carey, Australia knew they had the one up on Sri Lanka.
Just when the hosts started to show some resistance with a 65-run stand between Kusal and Ramesh Mendis, Mitchell Starc brought out the second new ball and made light work of the tail. He sent Ramesh packing, snatched up Prabath Jayasuriya the very next ball, and while his hat-trick bid was denied, Kuhnemann soon wrapped things up.
Starc and Lyon finished with three wickets each, putting Australia in the perfect position for a 2-0 series win ahead of day two.
