Sri Lanka win the toss and bat in second cricket test against Australia

News Update

Tezzbuzz|06-02-2025

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Dimuth Karunaratne strode to the crease to start his 100th and last test match after Sri Lanka won the toss Thursday and elected to bat against Australia.

After an embarrassing defeat by an innings and 242 runs in the first test – Sri Lanka’s worst loss in test cricket – the hosts made three lineup changes in a bid to bounce back in Galle and level the two-match series.

Australia made one lineup change, giving a test debut to 21-year-old Cooper Connolly, a batting allrounder from Western Australia who bowls left-arm orthodox spin, at the expense of Todd Murphy.

The game holds special significance as it marks the farewell test for 36-year-old opener Karunaratne, who amassed 7,172 runs in his first 99 test matches.

Sri Lanka, meanwhile, left out leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, top-order batter Oshada Fernando, and fast bowler Asitha Fernando, bringing in Pathum Nissanka, Ramesh Mendis, and Lahiru Kumara.

___

Lineups:

Sri lanka: dimuth karunaratne, pathum nissanka, pathum nissanka, dinesh chandimal, angelo mending dee Silva (Cascal Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris. Lahiru Kumara

Australia: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith (captain), Alex Carey, Beau Webster, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann

Umpires: Adrian Holdstock, South Africa, and Joel Wilson, West Indies

Third Umpire: Chris Gaffaney, New Zealand; Match Referee: Jeff Crowe, New Zealand

Latest Newsmore
1

T20 WC: Munsey, McMullen Power Scotland To 207/4 Against Italy

09-Feb-2026 • CricketnMore
2

T20 WC: Italy Captain Wayne Madsen Out Of Remainder Of Scotland Clash After Shoulder Dislocation

09-Feb-2026 • CricketnMore
3

WPL 2026: How an injury break, shift at domestic level helped Rajeshwari Gayakwad enjoy cricket again

09-Feb-2026 • sportstar
4

Harshit Rana: Harshit Rana had to undergo operation, was out of T20 World Cup due to this injury.

09-Feb-2026 • Sanjeev Kumar
5

KL Rahul Century: KL Rahul’s historic century, did not score a single run in 103 balls

09-Feb-2026 • Sanjeev Kumar