Starc snares early breakthrough as Aussie domination continues — LIVE

Australia is racing towards a thumping victory in the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy series opener against Sri Lanka in Galle.
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Having posted 6-654 declared in the first innings, the tourists captured four quick wickets to rip through Sri Lanka’s wobbly top order, with speedster Mitchell Starc the chief destroyer.
Australia has not won a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2011.
MATCH CENTRE: Sri Lanka vs Australia first Test live scorecard
Early catch of the year contender! | 00:42
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DAY 3 PREVIEW
In the aftermath of Steve Smith’s 35th Test century, an eerie comparison to Indian great Sachin Tendulkar has emerged.
Smith, who got off the mark with his 10,000th Test run on day one, still has a fair bit of work to do to catch Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921 Test runs, but statistics-based X account CricTracker has revealed that the two greats’ numbers are almost identical at this point of their careers.
Smith’s 141 came in his 205th Test innings, and after the same number of trips to the crease when donning the whites for their country, both Smith and Tendulkar had chalked up 35 centuries and 41 half-centuries.
‘The Little Master’ had the edge of total runs by just 220, on strike rate by .39, and registered a higher score with his unbeaten 248 against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2004 eclipsing Smith’s 239 against England in Perth in 2017.
The Australian has the bragging rights when it comes to average however, with his 56.33 pipping Tendulkar by .03.
MATCH CENTRE: Sri Lanka vs Australia first Test live scorecard
Smith’s biggest involvement on day three of the Test in Galle as expected to be as stand-in captain and as a slip fielder where he has the chance to reach more milestones.
The 35-year-old has excellent hands, particularly at slip to the spinners, and two more catches will take him past Ricky Ponting as Australia’s all-time leading catcher in Test cricket, besides wicket keepers.
Smith has snaffled 195 catches in 218 innings which gives him a remarkable catch per innings rate of 0.894, which is bettered only by the great Bob Simpson (0.94) for players to have taken more than 100 Test catches for Australia.
The likes of Mark Waugh and Mark Taylor, who are widely regarded as two of Australia’s best ever slip fielders, do not match Smith in that statistic and Ponting took an extra 110 innings to take his 196 catches.
Smith will be hoping his trio of spinners in Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy, as well as quick Mitchell Starc and the potential medium pace and off spin combination of Beau Webster, get him in the game on Friday as Australia starts the third day well and truly in command.
The Australians claimed three Sri Lankan scalps for just 44 runs late on day two after stand-in captain Smith declared at 6/654, the visitors’ highest Test score in Asia.
Khawaja & Inglis dominate on day two | 03:16
Usman Khawaja’s career best 232 as well as Smith’s 141 and debutant Josh Inglis’ 102 will have given Sri Lankan gun Kamindu Mendis an idea that big runs are still on offer, however.
Mendis averages 74 with the bat after ten Test matches so far and his smashed five centuries and four fifties in an incredible start to his journey at the top level.
The dashing left hander will have watched in the field as the Australians swept and used their feet superbly with an attacking mindset across the opening two days on a pitch which is turning, but is yet to display major demons.
The Australians will be desperate for the track to start to wreak havoc and the quick air speed of Lyon, Kuhnemann and Murphy make create more problems than the slow turn of the hosts.