LIVE - Sri Lanka v Australia: 2nd Test: Day-1 – Second Session's Recap
Sri Lanka’s misery continued in the second session, as the islanders piled up 158 runs for the loss of eight wickets before tea on the first day of the ongoing second Test against Australia at Pallekele International Stadium, on Thursday, September 8, 2011.
The home side started off the second session at 76/5 when Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews were unbeaten on the wicket at 29 and zero respectively. In the morning session, no Lankan batsmen could resist in front of Australia’s impeccable bowling.
The opening batsmen Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan lost their wickets without reaching double figures. The veteran, Mahela Jayawardene, also fell down cheaply before Thilan Samaraweera and Prasanna Jayawardene lost their wickets, adding 17
and 18 runs respectively.
Sangakkara and Mathews consolidated the innings to some extent, keeping the good work going after lunch. Both batsmen kicked off the session cautiously, but subsequently began playing their strokes.
The Lankan Lions were inching towards a reasonable first innings total when Michael Hussey provided the Aussies with the crucial breakthrough, picking up the dangerous Sangakkara when he was looking solid at 48.
After the departure of the former skipper, the succeeding duo, Suraj Randiv and Seekkuge Prasanna, crumbled much like the top-order, earlier in the day.
Randiv became Nathan Lyon’s victim and Prasanna gifted his wicket to Ryan Harris. Both batsmen collected four and five runs respectively before their dismissals.
Three wickets in quick succession put massive pressure on Mathews but the right-handed batsman did not lose his concentration. At the end of the second session, Mathews was unbeaten at 43 while Suranga Lakmal was yet to open his account.
Ryan Harris claimed three wickets while Trent Copeland and Nathan Lyon grabbed two scalps each. However, the hero of the second session was Hussey who just bowled one over and did the trick for the tourists, sending Sangakkara back to the pavilion.
Although, Mathews is looking good at the crease, it will be very tough for the home side to cross the 200 mark since the Kangaroos are doing a fantastic job with the ball.