During lunch on the second day of the first Test in Galle, Usman Khawaja produced an undefeated 204, his first double-century in Test cricket. On Sri Lankan soil, it is also the highest Test score ever achieved by an Australian batsman. Australia, led by his outstanding batting performance, dominated the Test match and amassed 145 runs in the session, losing only Steve Smith's wicket at 141. The hosts left at 475/1 for lunch.
Smith and Khawaja happily continued where they had left off on the first day. On the first day of the third session, the Sri Lankan spinners returned to bowling outside off with the new ball after delivering negative lines outside leg stump. However, as Khawaja swiftly reached 150, the two hitters were delighted to bang it around and get their eye in once more.
In order to prevent Nishan Peiris from settling, the hitters were more forceful and frequently hit boundaries off of him. Before cutting one off Jeffrey Vandersay to the backward point fence, Steve Smith danced down the track to loft a couple of boundaries over extra-cover. Khawaja had walked idly outside his crease, and Sri Lanka lost a run-out opportunity.
Following the drinks break, Smith was picked up by Sri Lanka in the opening over. Vandersay had gotten the first ball to spin sharply over his outside edge, which was a really solid set-up. Smith was trapped plumb in front of the stumps after he chased it up a couple of balls later, which held its line and straightened to smack him on the back-leg. The 266-run third-wicket stand came to an end.
Josh Inglis, making his debut, came to the crease and flicked to the boundary, missing the mark. The Australians then started to score runs at will, finding the boundary in each over and quickly surpassing the 450-mark. After hitting Prabath Jayasuriya for a single to reach his 200th, Khawaja lifted his bat and helmet to enjoy the cheers from the fans. Inglis played a calculated reverse sweep and nearly chopped it back on to the timber behind him, which was the only other half-chance the hosts managed to generate. At this point, Inglis and Khawaja have amassed an undefeated 74-run partnership at the fourth wicket.
Summary of the match between Australia and Sri Lanka: Australia 475/3 (Usman Khawaja 20*, Steve Smith 141, Travis Head 57; Jeffrey Vandersay 1-93, Prabath Jaysuriya 101).