Australia v Sri Lanka second Test: Steve Smith, Alex Carey score centuries on dominant day 2
Steve Smith enshrined his status as Australia’s Asian batting master as the skipper and Alex Carey drove the tourists towards the verge of a rare Test series win in the subcontinent.
Steve Smith ensconced his status as Australia’s Asian batting master as the skipper and Alex Carey drove the tourists towards the verge of a rare Test series win in the subcontinent.
From a precarious 3-91 in response to Sri Lanka’s first innings 257, Smith and Carey tamed the hosts’ myriad spinners and what had been shaping as a treacherous Galle deck to leave the Aussies in a commanding spot through two days of the second Test despite another failure for Marnus Labuschagne.
Australia was 3-330 at stumps, leading by 73, with Smith on 120 and Carey on 139.
Stand-in skipper Smith eclipsed Ricky Ponting for the most Test runs by an Aussie in Asia and Allan Border for the most Test centuries by an Australian on the continent with another sublime knock replete with spectacular drives and clinical pulls.
Smith’s fourth Test ton on these shores means only Sachin Tendulkar now has more in Sri Lanka for a touring player.
From having his future called into serious question only a couple of months ago after a 17-month drought between Test tons, Smith has now peeled off four within eight weeks in what has become a golden season for the all-time great.
Carey deserves no shortage of plaudits either. Having kept brilliantly across the series to date, he franked his summer’s batting touch with a second Test ton and first overseas, having narrowly missed out in the successful run chase at Hagley Oval 11 months ago.
The South Australian was elevated to No. 5 after Josh Inglis was mandated to bat down the order because of back stiffness that had kept the first Test centurion sidelined for much of Sri Lanka’s innings.
Arriving in the middle after Usman Khawaja fell lbw to Nishan Peiris for 36, Carey swept with aplomb, racing to his ton off just 118 balls.
Smith and Carey are known to spend plenty of time together socially, and the good mates have laid the platform for Australia to bat Sri Lanka out of the match early on day three.
It hadn’t been plain sailing for Australia early on Friday though.
Travis Head played with typical aggression but could only manage 21 before edging off-spinner Peiris to slip.
Labuschagne’s Test average then slumped to its lowest point in well over five years after he fell lbw to Prabath Jayasuriya for four, a call overturned on review after an error from umpire Adrian Holdstock.
The Galle pitch had played better than Australia expected on day one but was starting to turn considerably by the end of the opening session, not that Smith seemed particularly fazed.
He was given lbw by Joel Wilson on 23 but successfully reviewed the decision after the blunder-plone West Indian umpire had triggered Smith to a ball that had hit the pad well outside the line of off-stump.
Sri Lanka earlier added 28 to its overnight total as Kusal Mendis played splendidly for an unbeaten 85, stranded within sight of a century after No. 11 Lahiru Kumara nicked to Beau Webster who snaffled a tricky chance at second slip and handed a third wicket to Matt Kuhnemann.
However Mendis was untidy with the gloves, spilling a take behind the stumps with Khawaja on seven that underscored the excellence of Australian counterpart Carey.
While Australia retained the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy with its innings victory in the first Test, the Aussies are determined to avoid dropping the second Test - as happened on their last visit to the island nation in mid-2022 - and claim what would be a first Test series win in Sri Lanka since 2011.
That series victory is one of just two for Australia in Tests on the subcontinent in the last 18 years.
Relive all of the action in our live blog blow.
SESSION TIMES (AEDT)
Session 1: 3.30pm - 5.30pm
Session 2: 6.10pm - 8.10pm
Session 3: 8.30pm - 10.30pm
* An extra 30 minutes can be used to complete daily overs
Originally published as Australia v Sri Lanka second Test: Steve Smith, Alex Carey score centuries on dominant day 2
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