Sri Lanka rue missed chances in Aussie thrashing

Sri Lanka have been left to rue missed opportunities in a record-breaking Test match loss to Australia.

But coach Sanath Jayasuriya points to recent history for evidence the hosts can level the series when the second match begins in seaside Galle on Thursday.

Australia recorded their largest-ever total on the subcontinent in the series opener (6d-654), before skittling Sri Lanka (165, 247) twice either side of a rare follow-on.

The tourists won by an innings and 242 runs just before tea on day four.

“They outplayed us, they played positive cricket and they got runs on the board. That was the key,” Jayasuriya said.

The loss was Sri Lanka’s largest in Test history, eclipsing a painful defeat to India by an innings and 239 runs in 2017.

But things could have been different had the hosts taken their chances on a dominant first day of Australian batting.

Usman Khawaja (232) was dropped twice and survived Sri Lanka’s decision not to review a caught-behind chance as he made his way to a 16th Test century.

Stand-in captain Steve Smith was put down by Prabath Jayasuriya from his own bowling on one run, and would go on to add 140 more.

Sri Lanka had earlier declined what would have been a successful lbw review on Travis Head (57) and missed a run-out chance on Marnus Labuschagne (20), though those errors proved less expensive.

“We can’t control (losing) the toss but we should’ve controlled the first session of the game,” coach Jayasuriya said.

“It would’ve been a different story altogether if we got some wickets. That was the key. Then they batted really well, Khawaja and Smith both.

“You need to take your half-chances, even the review, if you think it’s a half you have to go for it. We missed those.”

But Sri Lanka need only look at Australia’s last tour for evidence they can level the series in Galle, where conditions can be unpredictable from match to match.

Australia won the first Test by 10 wickets in 2022 on the back of some surprise off-spin brilliance from Travis Head (4-10) and Cameron Green’s half-century.

But in the second, middle-order veteran Dinesh Chandimal made an unbeaten double-hundred to power the hosts to victory by an innings and 39 runs – their largest-ever defeat of Australia.

Six players from that victorious team, including five of the top-six batters, featured in the recent loss to Australia.

“We are capable of doing the change,” said Jayasuriya.

“(In 2022) they lost badly in the first game, they came back and they did well. We have to do well.”

Sri Lanka are hoping to make at least one change to their XI for the second Test with opening batter Pathum Nissanka a chance to recover from a groin issue.

“If he’s fit, definitely Pathum is in. We haven’t decided anything else now,” Jayasuriya said.