Sandakan and Herath scalp 4-each as Sri Lanka fight back against Aussies

Debutant spinner Sandakan and Herath's four-wicket hauls help Sri Lanka come back, but Australia establish first innings lead on rain-interrupted Day 2

Pallekele: Sri Lanka's spinners fought back to restrict Australia to a slim first-innings lead as bowlers continued to dominate the first Test here yesterday.

SL debutant spinner Lakshan Sandakan is ecstatic after claiming four wickets vs Aus in Pallekele. Pics/AFP

Having been dismissed for just 117 on the first day, Sri Lanka were looking at a large first-innings deficit only for Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan to dismiss the visitors for 203 — the left-arm spinners claiming four wickets each. However Mitchell Starc struck late on, trapping Kusal Perera in front for four to leave Sri Lanka six for one and still 80 runs behind before rain wiped out most of the final session.

Resuming the day on 66 for two, Australia would have hoped to move ahead without further damage but Herath immediately made inroads, dismissing Steve Smith (30) and Usman Khawaja (26) in the opening half hour. After Smith was stumped following an uncharacteristic swipe, Herath then thought he had the key wicket of the in-form Adam Voges first ball, only for an lbw review to narrowly go the way of the Australian batsman with replays suggesting the ball was just clipping leg stump.

Sandakan's first victim
Mitchell Marsh became debutant Sandakan's first victim following a breezy 31 before Peter Nevill holed out cheaply to give Herath his fourth with 137 on the board. Nuwan Pradeep had Voges caught at gully for 47 as another batsman failed to make the most of a good start and despite a dogged lower-order effort, Sandakan claimed the last three wickets to return figures of four for 58.

SL's Rangana Herath (left) celebrates the wicket of Australia's Usman Khawaja (right) with teammates in Pallekele yesterday

Kusal Perera, was then sent out to open ahead of Dimuth Karunaratne, but the experiment did not last long as Starc struck in the third over of the innings with what proved to be the final ball before the rain came.

Brief scores
Sri Lanka 117 & 6-1 vs Australia 203 (A Voges 47, M Marsh 31, S Smith 30; R Herath 4-49, L Sandakan 4-58)

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