Australia's Spinners Put Sri Lanka on the Brink of Defeat in Galle

Australia’s spinners, Matthew Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon, produced a dominant performance on the third day of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, pushing the visitors closer to a series win. At the end of the day’s play, Sri Lanka found themselves in a precarious position, finishing at 211/8 with a slender lead of just 54 runs. The home team’s batting line-up once again faltered against the Australian spin attack, leaving them with little hope of saving the game.

Kusal Mendis, who had shown some resilience earlier in the series, was once again Sri Lanka's standout performer, finishing the day unbeaten on 48*. However, his valiant efforts were overshadowed by the struggles of his teammates, who failed to provide consistent support at the other end. The post-tea session saw Sri Lanka accumulate 113 runs, but the price was steep, as they lost four wickets in quick succession.

The early phase after the tea break looked quite promising for the hosts. Skipper Dhananjaya de Silva was playing composed as he was along with Angelo Mathews, who looked confident and fluent. More particularly, Angelo was in the saddle and going along well. Angelo was poised for a big one. Once again, it proved to be just too good for the Aussies, who brought Kuhnemann into the scene. The left-arm spinner produced a beauty that sharply spun to catch de Silva off guard. The Sri Lankan captain, trying to defend, edged the ball to slip, where Steve Smith made an exceptional diving catch to send him back to the pavilion.

However, the wicket of de Silva did not change the fate of Mathews. He stayed at the crease and offered some hope to Sri Lanka as he continued building his innings with patience and determination. However, his stay was short-lived as he tried to sweep aggressively against Lyon. The ball top-edged and went over towards short fine leg, where an alert Webster took a comfortable catch, dismissing Mathews for 76. It was a frustrating moment for Sri Lanka, as Mathews had seemed to be in total control and seemed destined for a century. His dismissal marked the start of another Australian surge.

The Australians wouldn't let them breathe either. Webster, chipping in an important cameo while part-time bowler, accounted for Ramesh Mendis to push Lanka further into its crisis. Howsoever wickets continued to be lost in all regularity that Sri Lanka seemed not able to develop partnerships well enough. An interesting Kusal Mendis-led counterattack still only temporarily handed Lanka a passing lead. Late in the day Kuhnemann struck again, dismissing Prabath Jayasuriya, dropping Australia to just two more wickets before they could close the innings to comfortably seal victory.

There is only hope now for Sri Lanka in the form of Kusal Mendis, who will have to play a match-winning innings to get his team out of this spot of bother. If he can farm the strike effectively with the tail and push the lead into the 120-130 range, Sri Lanka will still be having a faint, glimmering hope. But with the pitch deteriorating and the Australian spinners in full rhythm, the task at hand looks nearly impossible.

Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka's spinners had also taken things really tight against Australia to limit the lead from 330/3 to 157 going into the third day, which has, presumably, given them some hope. Even Australia, probably thinking of exceeding 500 runs, never quite got anywhere with the Sri Lankan spinners impressively responding. Prabath Jayasuriya and Nishan Peiris both bowled their lines very skillfully. Jayasuriya was also bowling quite hard and, in the end, took five wickets going to his economy of 5-151. Sri Lanka's bowlers worked overtime but could not prevent the Australians from building a considerable lead in their first innings, which they would have used well in the context of the match.

As things are, Australia finds itself in an all but decisive position, only two wickets away from win, and now Sri Lanka will have to leave everything on one man, the shoulders of their hope Kusal Mendis alone, but, with the ball continuing to break down, and the pitch looking to wear increasingly, it remains hard to visualise how Australia can lose here.

Scorecard:

Sri Lanka: 257 & 211/8 (Angelo Mathews 76, Kusal Mendis 48*; Matthew Kuhnemann 4-52, Nathan Lyon 3-80)

Australia: 414 (Alex Carey 156, Steve Smith 131; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-151)

Lead: Sri Lanka lead by 54 runs.