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51st over: Sri Lanka 157-8 (Vandersay 0, Peiris 1) There are six fielders round the bat for the new batter Peiris: short leg, gully, slip, leg slip, leg gully and short leg. An inside-edge lands just short of leg gully.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 156-8 (Jayasuriya st Carey b Kuhnemann 0)
Another one. Jayasuriya runs past a lovely delivery that pitches on middle and growls past the edge; Alex Carey does the rest. Sri Lanka have lost three for none in 13 balls and Matthew Kuhnemann is one wicket away from his second Test five-for.
50th over: Sri Lanka 156-7 (Jayasuriya 0, Vandersay 0) There’s surely no doubt Australia will enforce the follow-on when the time comes. It’s not like they need to give the seamers a break, or that there’s any risk of them losing the game with a lead of almost 500.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 156-7 (Chandimal LBW b Lyon 72)
The change of angle works for Nathan Lyon, who has dismissed Chandimal for only the second time in Tests. Chandimal missed a reverse sweep and was hit on the back thigh by a lovely delivery that curved onto off and middle and turned sharply.
Chandimal reviewed, mainly because he’s the last remaining batter, but it was hitting leg stump and he’s on his way for a punchy 72.
49th over: Sri Lanka 156-6 (Chandimal 72, Jayasuriya 0) There’s isn’t much Sri Lankan batting left – Prabath Jayasuriya, the No8, has a Test average of 8.41 – so one wicket could bring five. Jayasuriya is beaten by his first two deliveries, both of which rip off the stumps to beat the edge.
WICKET! Sri Lanka 156-6 (Kusal Mendis c Murphy b Kuhnemann 21)
Kusal Mendis falls into the trap. Australia were happy for him to slog-sweep against the spin, knowing he could easily top-edge it. That’s exactly what happened and Todd Murphy took a excellent running catch at deepish midwicket.
48th over: Sri Lanka 156-5 (Chandimal 72, Kusal Mendis 22) A great stat from the host broadcaster. Chandimal has a head-to-head average of 221 against Nathan Lyon in Test cricket. Make that 223 after a couple of singles in this over. Lyon has moved around the wicket to Chandimal but not Mendis.
47th over: Sri Lanka 152-5 (Chandimal 70, Kusal Mendis 19) Mendis fetches Kuhnemann from well outside off stump, slog-sweeping through midwicket for four. Australia won’t mind that with the ball turning away from the bat.
46th over: Sri Lanka 145-5 (Chandimal 68, Kusal Mendis 14) Mendis lunges at a beautiful delivery from Lyon that zips past the edge. Carey has the bails off in a flash but Mendis’s back foot stayed grounded. It feels like a wicket is imminent.
45th over: Sri Lanka 144-5 (Chandimal 67, Kusal Mendis 14) Kuhnemann is getting bounce as well as turn and has started very well. Chandimal, surprised by a ball that spits from middle stump, does well to soften his hands and drop it short of the fielder who has just been moved to silly point.
England Women have had a better morning at the MCG, taking the last five Australian wickets for nine runs. They are miles behind, though, and there’s every chance Australia will complete a whitewash today.
44th over: Sri Lanka 143-5 (Chandimal 66, Kusal Mendis 14) Nathan Lyon’s first ball induces a top-edged sweep from Chandimal that lands safely. Mendis then crashes a pull into the left knee of Head at short leg. Oof, that looked painful.
Lyon has a slightly different field: slip, short leg and leg gully.
43rd over: Sri Lanka 138-5 (Chandimal 64, Kusal Mendis 11) Kuhnemann starts around the wicket, with two slips and a short leg for both batsmen. There’s some turn straight away, albeit relatively slow, and Chandimal and Mendis take a single apiece. A low-key start.
Nathan Lyon talks to our own Adam Collins
We can’t do anything about the weather. But we’ve rocked up here today and there’s some sunlight and some heat coming out of the ground. It’s gonna be a challenging morning and an exciting one.
We hope the pitch will deteriorate, you expect that on the subcontinent. Hopefully we’ll get a full day in today.
I’ve played against Dinesh [Chandimal] for a long time now – he’s a class player, isn’t he? Hopefully we can create some more problems for him to solve.
[On Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy] Our preparation has been pretty spot on. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Dubai. Their young, they’re learning, they’re asking questions. It’s a pretty amazing group to be working with.
I’ve got nothing but love for the ground here at Galle. The Sri Lankan culture and people… it’s an amazing place to tour.
Less than ten minutes until play resumes. It looks a beautiful sunny day in Galle. There’s a small chance of rain this afternoon but apart from that the radar looks clear.
Weather permitting, there should be plenty of time for Australia to force victory in this game, almost 200 overs. That’s roughly a wicket every 13 overs on a pitch that is already offering a fair bit for the spinners.
The Women’s Ashes Test is about to resume at the MCG. Jonathan Howcroft is on duty for that one.
Preamble
Rob Smyth
Morning folks. Shall we try that one again? Only 27 overs were possible on the third day in Galle but the forecast is much better today and Australia should be able to push towards victory. All things being equal, there should be a sighting of an endangered tactic: the follow-on.
Sri Lanka will resume on 136 for 5, still a mildly terrifying 518 runs behind, with Dinesh Chandimal on 63 and Kusal Mendis on 10. Expect an early blast from Mitchell Starc and then spin, lots of spin.
