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.
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Lineups:
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), Kusal Mendis, Ramesh 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