Sri Lanka fight but Australia ahead ? Cricket News Roundup ? Part 1 ? January 5, 2013
Australia cemented their footings on the third and final Test against Sri Lanka by restricting the tourists to 225 for 7 ? an overall lead of 87 ? at stumps on Day 3, at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The Aussies resumed from their overnight score of 342 for 6, and added 90 more to the total before skipper Michael Clarke made the declaration call. Matthew Wade did the bulk of the scoring, and consequently reached a deserved century.
In reply, the Lankans lost Tillakaratne Dilshan early on but opener Dimuth Karunaratne (85) and skipper Mahela Jayawardene(60) offered hope by standing in an appreciable 108-run partnership. However, the wicket of the former instigated a decline in their fortunes, with no other batter, apart from Dinesh Chandimal (22*), getting beyond 20.
South African Test skipper, Graeme Smith, praised the resilience of his team after they routed New Zealand by an innings margin during the recently concluded opening Test at Cape Town.
After dismissing the Black Caps on an embarrassing 45 in the first innings, the Proteas piled on the runs and took a comprehensive 302-run lead. Despite the resistance shown by the Kiwi batters in the second outing, the Proteas still came up trumps, wining the contest inside three days.
Having upset the likes of England and Australia over the past six months, Smith was keen to admire the team?s mental strength. "There is resilience in the squad. We've been under big pressure. We've fought back from tough positions and we've worked our backsides off to get back into games. Then, when we've had that opportunity, we've driven a bus through the door," Smith said.
South African pacer, Vernon Philander, is a doubt for the team?s upcoming second Test against New Zealand after aggravating his hamstring injury during the recent victory at Cape Town.
Philander, who picked seven scalps in the match, felt pain in his left leg and left the bowling after finishing his final spell on Day 3. Team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, said that the injury is not a big concern but will be assessed accordingly before deciding whether to include Philander for the second Test, which begins on January 11.
"With Tests so close together, management may not want to risk playing Vernon but we also don't want to take a call too early," Moosajee said.
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