Australia were left stunned as bails refused to fall despite hitting the stumps when Angelo Mathews was batting on day two of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium. Nathan Lyon was denied a well-deserved scalp as a video of the same surfaced on social media on January 30,

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Usman Khawaja's maiden double century and a hundred on debut from Josh Inglis give Australia complete control of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka was staring down the barrel at 44-3 after Australia achieved its largest ever total in Asia — 654-6 declared — on day two of the first test on Thursday. Fatigued after spending five and a half sessions under the scorching sun, Sri Lanka’s batting resistance was minimal.

In the past 15 years, Australia has only enforced the follow-on five times, with acting skipper Smith in command for one of those matches, a win over the West Indies in Hobart in 2015. But it may be Australia's clearest path to victory against Sri Lanka.

Australia's star batter Travis Head snaffled a one-handed stunner at short leg on Day 2 of the opening Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium.

But how the surface plays here in Galle is just part of the wider fascination of Test cricket in this coastal setting near the southern tip of Sri Lanka. There are other factors too that add to the drama around what plays out in the middle.

Travis Head, standing at short-leg, took a sensational one-handed catch to dismiss Angelo Mathews on Day 2 of the first Test in Galle.

The two-match series is SL's last ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle assignment. After this, it has only two home Tests against Bangladesh in 2025. In their next WTC 2025-27 cycle, Sri Lanka has a total of 12 Tests scheduled as of now, at an average of six per year.

Usman Khawaja made some past selectors look silly by soaring to his highest score and Josh Inglis vindicated the current panel as Australia put Sri Lanka in a deep hole.

Australia's stand-in skipper Steve Smith called it right at the toss and has opted to bat first at the Galle International Stadium

After what was a batting collapse on Day 2 for Sri Lanka, the home side will be looking to pose a better answer in front of the Australia bowling attack featuring the likes of Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.