Australia enjoy their best day…..

Australia perhaps had their best day with the bat for the first time in the series when they closed the second day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka on a healthy 141 for one wicket courtesy of fighting unbeaten half-centuries from skipper Steve Smith (61 off 108 balls) and Shaun Marsh (64 off 141 balls) at the SSC grounds yesterday.

Dinesh Chandimal celebrates his seventh Test century on the second day of the third and final Test against Australia at the SSC grounds yesterday. Pictures by Rukmal Gamage,

The pair batted with determination and using their feet well to the Lankan spinners has so far put together their first century partnership of the series – 120 off 234 balls, after losing David Warner to the last ball before the tea break for 11.

Australia still trail Sri Lanka by 214 runs and have a lot of batting ahead of them because they will be batting last on this pitch which is expected to take more spin with the passing days.

The fact that there were no lbw dismissals in the Sri Lanka or the Australian innings so far gave an indication of how the pitch is playing compared to the 20 lbw decisions that were given in the first two Tests at Pallekele and Galle.

If Australia took the honours in the final session, the first two were dominated against by Sri Lanka with vice-captain Dinesh Chandimal producing a workmanlike century to carry his team to a respectable first innings total of 355.

Chandimal’s seventh Test hundred and his first against Australia coupled with that of Dhananjaya de Silva’s knock of 129 saw Sri Lanka lift themselves off the floor from a lowly 26-5 courtesy of a record sixth wicket partnership of 211 between the two centurions.

De Silva captured the headlines on the opening day with his maiden Test century, and yesterday it was the turn of Chandimal who displayed great resolve to play a responsible innings for his team.

Chandimal played second fiddle to De Silva in the big partnership but after his partner was dismissed in the 14th over of the morning for 129 after hitting 18 fours off 280 balls, he took control of the innings to reach his century which he celebrated with an eruption of emotion leaping in the air and punching it. It was the first time in 82 years that numbers six and seven had made centuries in a Test, the last occasion being England pair Maurice Leyland and Les Ames against Australia at Lord’s in 1934.

Chandimal carried the fight to the Aussies bowlers and after De Silva’s departure at 237, figured in valuable partnerships with the tail to further frustrate the opposition.

The most crucial of those stands was with Rangana Herath who went onto play another gutty knock of 33 in a stand of 73 for the eighth wicket before he was forced to retire hurt after being hit a painful blow on his groin by Jos Hazlewood.

Herath did not take the field in the few minutes Australia batted before the tea break but recovered sufficiently to resume bowling in the final session without showing any discomfort. Chandimal after his eight-hour batting marathon suffered from dehydration and although he took the field did not keep wickets – Kusal Perera taking over that role.

Mitchell Starc, Australia’s star fast bowler cleaned up the Lankan tail to finish with his third consecutive five-for in the series that took his tally of wickets to 22, more than any bowler in the series.

Australian captain Steve Smith had a horrible day on the field dropping Chandimal at 100 off the luckless Jon Holland and Herath at 28 off Mitch Marsh – both chances going abegging at slip, but later compensated to some extent with the bat. Sri Lanka leads the three-match series 2-0.