Mitchell Swepson hit late for Australia, but on the second day of the second test he belonged to Sri Lanka after a dominant display with bat and ball to Galle.
On a day when Australia was expected to have a big advantage, tourists now have a reduced advantage of 180 with Sri Lanka enjoying their best day in the two-test series so far.
Sri Lanka reached the strains with 2-184 in response to Australia’s 364, with Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews undefeated with 84 and six, respectively.
Watch the Australia Tour of Sri Lanka. Every T20, ODI and Test Match live and on demand at Kayo. Are we Kayo? Start your free trial now>
COMMUNICATION POINTS: Maxwell returns to focus as Smith’s special feat masks Aussie’s major problem
MATCH CENTER: Australia vs Sri Lanka, second round, live score
The people of Sri Lanka surround Galle Stadium in “extraordinary scenes” to get the world’s attention
It was a disappointing day for Australia, who resumed baptism with 5-298, but lost five fast ports before Dimuth Karunaratne and Mendis teamed up with 152 runs after the early loss of Pathum Nissanka.
But there was some late joy for Australia as Swepson came on to play in the final 40 minutes and caught Karunaratne ahead for 86 minutes.
Earlier, the hosts had reached only 1-65 in the tea before increasing the speed, but few spectators watched from the stands, after a new outbreak of political unrest in the country.
Sri Lanka received an early blow when Mitchell Starc’s bowling pace brought Nissanka closer to the ball in the ravine, where Cameron Green caught a good catch.
Cummins kept the batters at the back foot in his eight overs, throwing four maidens and giving away just 11 runs.
Nathan Lyon also controlled the scoring before Karunaratne hit two spinner limits on one to ease the pressure a bit.
This momentum was maintained until the last session, as Sri Lanka raised its race rate to 2.92 and surpassed the symbolic mark of half of Australia’s score.
Meanwhile, rookie spinner Prabath Jayasuriya grabbed six ports to help roll Australia, which collapsed with a 5-35 loss.
Steve Smith remained undefeated in 145 after running out of partners Saturday morning, after ending an 18th-century drought on Friday.
Jayasuriya, who grabbed three ports on the opening day, set a trap for batter Alex Carey overnight, who made a mistake with a reverse sweep to get caught in the back spot for 28.
The left-arm spinner soon pulled Starc by one to become Sri Lanka’s seventh bowling player to take five wickets in a test debut.
Jayasuriya was one of three Sri Lankan players, along with Maheesh Theekshana and Kamindu Mendis, to receive a first test lead after a Covid outbreak that sidelined several team members.
There were hardly any spectators in Galle for the play on the second day, with the host country embroiled in public unrest stemming from its painful economic crisis.
The session began with hundreds of protesters looking at Galle Fort to demand the resignation of the Sri Lankan president, who fled his home on Saturday shortly before an enraged crowd stormed his residence.
Australia lead the two-game series 1-0 after an overwhelming initial win in three days during last week’s first test.
SL v Aus Segon Test Day 1 Highlights | 06:51
EQUIPMENT
Sri Lanka XI: Dimuth Karunarathne (c), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson