PALLEKELE : Australia took early charge of the second Test against Sri
Lanka after bowling out the home side for a hugely disappointing 174
soon after tea on the opening day in Pallekele on Thursday.Fast
bowler Ryan Harris led the way with three wickets and Trent Copeland,
Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Lyon picked up two each in good batting
conditions at the Pallekele International Stadium.Australia,
hoping to clinch the three-match series after winning the first Test in
Galle by 125 runs, raced to 60 for no loss before bad light ended play
5.2 overs early.Shane Watson returned unbeaten on 36 with six boundaries and Phillip Hughes was on a watchful 23 at stumps.The
hosts, electing to bat after winning the toss, never recovered after
they lost half the side for 76 by lunch, the top three falling by the
eighth over with the score at just 14.Vice-captain Angelo
Mathews cracked three sixes and six boundaries in an aggressive 58 to
boost the total, but seven batsmen failed to reach double figures.Former
captain Kumar Sangakkara chipped in with 48, adding 43 for the fourth
wicket with Thilan Samaraweera and 52 for the sixth with Mathews.The
elegant left-hander looked set for a major knock when he lost his
wicket to part-time bowler Mike Hussey, whose slow-medium delivery was
driven to Hughes at short-cover.It was only the third wicket
in 61 Tests for Hussey and compounded Sri Lanka's woes on a wicket that
had rolled out well in favour of the batsmen.Hussey also
picked up a brilliant diving catch at gully to remove star batsman
Mahela Jayawardene, who had hit a century in Galle.Opener Tharanga Paranavitana fell for his second successive duck and skipper Tillakaratne Dilshan was bowled for four.Sri
Lanka could have lost Sangakkara cheaply, but Shane Watson spilled a
catch at first slip off Johnson when the batsman was on 27 Samaraweera
was dismissed 20 minutes before lunch, caught behind off Harris for 18,
while Prasanna Jayawardene threw away his wicket just before the break.The
Sri Lankan wicket-keeper smashed off-spinner Lyon for a six and four,
but holed out in the deep off the last ball of the over.Dilshan lashed out at his batsmen, saying they needed to make significant contributions if Sri Lanka were to level the series.The
hosts had been dismissed for 105 and 253 in the first Test with a
century from Mahela Jayawardene and 95 from Mathews being the only major
contributions.Australia made one change from the side
that won the first Test, bringing in debutant Shaun Marsh for former
captain Ricky Ponting, who has returned home for the birth of his second
child.The left-hander received his baggy green Australian
cap before the start of play from his father, Geoff Marsh, a former
opening batsman who played 50 Tests and 117 one-dayers before retiring
in 1992.Sri Lanka included leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna for
his maiden Test match after both Rangana Herath and Ajantha Mendis were
ruled out with injuries.
