Head and Khawaja help Australia dominate morning session against Sri Lanka at Galle with respective half centuries.
Head and Khawaja scored fifties as Australia enter in a position of strength at the end of the first session in Galle.
Following Travis Head’s quick half-century on a sluggish Galle surface against a spin-heavy Sri Lanka attack in the series’ opening session, which justified his promotion up the batting-order, Australia’s stand-in skipper Steven Smith recorded his 10,000th Test run.
Smith joined Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, and Allan Border as the only Australians to reach the milestone when he struck the one run required off his first delivery shortly before lunch.
Australia’s aggressive strategy paid off, but Sri Lanka put up a late-session comeback with the dismissals of Marnus Labuschagne and Head for 57.A unexpected addition for Sri Lanka, legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay spun the ball forcefully and was rewarded with Labuschagne’s wicket.
However, Sri Lanka lamented lost chances to dismiss Smith and Usman Khawaja shortly before halftime.
Khawaja has maintained a calm demeanour and played with good intentions to reach lunch on 65 not out, avoiding the tormentor Jasprit Bumrah.
With their opening partnership of 92 runs, Head and Khawaja took full advantage of the advantageous batting conditions.
Head moved up from No. 5 at the expense of 19-year-old Sam Konstas, who had made a striking start to his Test debut against India, in a rather controversial move. Josh Inglis, a famous spinner and wicketkeeper for Western Australia, was also permitted to make his Test debut at five as a specialist batter because of the decision.
In his 40-ball whirlwind, Head, who had previously failed as a middle-order hitter in Sri Lanka, recreated his success as an opener in India during the 2023 trip. Head played shrewdly and largely in the traditional manner, despite his quick strike rate suggesting aggressive batting right out of the just finished Big Bash League.
Head effectively targeted Sri Lankan spinners Nishan Peiris and Prabath Jayasuriya with quick footwork that skimmed down the pitch, preventing them from settling on a surface that offered minimal turn at first.
To support frontman Nathan Lyon, Australia chose a spin-heavy assault that included left-armer Matthew Kuhnemann and offspinner Todd Murphy.
Beau Webster, an all-rounder who could bowl seam and seam, was picked as the only paceman, replacing Mitchell Starc. Unfortunately, despite collecting ten wickets against India in the fifth Test at the SCG, Scott Boland was dropped.