Sri Lanka spin reinforcements for Australia showdown

Sri Lanka are looking to level the Test series with spin reinforcements for the second match starting Friday against an upbeat Australia. The tourists batted and bowled with control on a turning Galle track in a crushing opening win, forcing the hosts to turn to their one-day heroes who helped beat Australia 3-2. Spinners Maheesh Theekshana, Dinuth Wellalage and Prabath Jayasuriya have been added to the Sri Lankan squad along with all-rounder Lakshita Manasinghe who bowls off-spin.

"I was very surprised with the selections for the first Test, because I thought there were a couple of names that should have been there after the one-day series performances," former captain Aravinda de Silva told AFP. Theekshana, a mystery spinner, claimed four wickets and kept down the runs in the ODIs while 19-year-old Wellalage remained the leading bowler with nine wickets from his left-arm spin. Both the players are looking for their first Test cap in the absence of Praveen Jayawickrama, who had been expected to play the second match but tested Covid positive on Monday.

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon took a match haul of nine wickets to lead his team's domination in the opener as they bundled out Sri Lanka twice for 212 and 113. But Aravinda remains confident in the talent that Sri Lanka has. "All the guys are very, very talented lot.

You saw them play in the one-dayers. It's just that they need to understand that it's a mind game," said the World Cup winner. "Because they have the ability and just need to be selective in shot-making and to understand their roles.