Live Cricket Score: Sri Lanka vs Australia, 2nd Test Day 4

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, EDGED, BUT THROUGH! Another slice of luck for Mathews. The straighter one, from Lyon, outside off, Angelo Mathews stays back to defend, expecting the ball to turn but this one goes straight on and squares him up. There is extra bounce from the rough and the leading edge is generated but it lobs over Steven Smith at first slip and runs down to deep third. A single taken. First run of the session. UltraEdge detects a flat line though, when the ball passes the bat.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, On middle and leg, even quicker, 95 kph, AM works it rowards short fine leg again.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, Darted on middle and off, 92 kph, Angelo gets across but manages to work it towards short fine leg.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, Outside off, 81 kph, a touch short, Mathews gets back and across and nudges it towards short mid-wicket.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, Full, around off, 91 kph, Angelo Mathews gets across and jabs it in front of short leg.

Welcome back for the final session of the day. It will be interesting to see who starts off proceedings with the ball. Given that 33 overs have been bowled, Smith could turn to Mitchell Starc for some reverse swing or maybe, bring him in the last 30-odd minutes of the day, for a wicket or two before Stumps. Out walk the two batters, Angelo Mathews and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva. No Starc for now. Spin to continue. It will be Nathan Lyon. 11-0-27-2 so far. Here we go...

... DAY 3, FINAL SESSION ...

In the other game, in Bulawayo, in the one-off Test between Zimbabwe and Ireland, the visitors have moved nicely to 130/2, leading by 123. They lost Curtis Campher this morning for 39, involved in a 75-run stand with skipper Andy Balbirnie, who is still going strong on 47. This is just Day 3, so there is plenty of time left in that match for twists and turns. After this Test, the white-ball format follows, in the form of 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, an ODI triseries has kicked off between New Zealand and Pakistan. The third team is South Africa. Was just having a chat with a colleague the other day and we were pondering about the last time we actually witnessed a triseries in ODIs between Test-playing nations. Turns out it was between Ireland, Bangladesh and West Indies, in Ireland, just ahead of the 2019 World Cup. This series too, is a precursor to the Champions Trophy and Pakistan have got a headstart in Lahore today. Shaheen Afridi struck on the 4th ball of the match to dismiss Will Young and as per the latest update, the Kiwis are 19/1 in the 5th over, after electing to bat.

30 overs are left in the day. The Lankans could continue to be positive but there needs to be one person who can play the long haul. Angelo Mathews can do that. Maybe, the likes of Dhananjaya de Silva and Kusal Mendis can take on the Aussies and score quick runs and put the pressure back on them. Right now, the visitors look in control but if this remaining deficit is wiped off without any more loss of a wicket, there will be some kind of pressure on the Kangaroos as they would not want to chase anything more than 100 in the fourth innings. The final session is scheduled to begin at 9.30 am GMT.

Decent bowling from Australia so far. The pitch has been helping them and a little bit of help has been provided by the batters as well. There is a very thin line between being positive and being aggressive and sometimes, the latter approach results in a downfall. Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis found that. Matthew Kuhnemann has been excellent with his lines and lengths while Nathan Lyon has been accurate too. However, the surprise package has been Travis Head. His figures read 0/33 in 9 overs but everytime he has come on to bowl, it has caused some discomfort or the other to the batters and there is a feeling that a wicket is just around the corner. 

Sri Lanka have come out positive in this batting attempt and it is not a bad option, given that there is one ball on this pitch which has your name on it. An attacking approach might take the bowlers off their lines and lengths and induce some mistakes from them. Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews have tried that and while the former fell to that ploy, the latter, after surviving a few early scares, has seemed pretty comfortable on 38. Pathum Nissanka and Dimuth Karunaratne could be termed as wickets off the pitch and hence, the Aussies would be confident that the indifference comes up even more in the final session.

Decent session for both sides in terms of runs but in the context of the match, have to put it down as an edge to Australia. They have picked up 4 wickets in the session and though the run rate is fairly decent, they have made significant blows in that batting order. 

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Outside off, Dhananjaya de Silva pushes it to the off side. TEA ON DAY 3, SRI LANKA ARE 98/4, TRAILING BY 59 RUNS.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Around off, worked towards short mid-wicket.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, FOUR! Fine shot. Full, outside off, 86 kph, de Silva comes forward and drives it through the vacant mid off region for a boundary. The deficit is now 59.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Down the leg side, 94 kph, Dhananjaya de Silva helps it towards short leg.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Very full, outside off, 87 kph, Mathews reaches out and sweeps it to deep square leg for a single.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Full, around off, 93 kph, Angelo Mathews defends it back to the bowler.

Possibly the last over before Tea.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Outside off, punched towards cover.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Angelo Mathews, Short, outside off, 83 kph, cut through the covers for a quick single.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Angelo Mathews, Fuller, around middle and leg, 84 kph, AM stays leg side of the ball and drives it towards the bowler, to his left.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Angelo Mathews, Quicker, on middle, 86 kph, Angelo literally gets down to crouch and block.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Angelo Mathews, Fuller, outside off, a touch slower, Mathews lunges and pushes it to the off side.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Angelo Mathews, Landed outside off, from around the wicket, 83 kph, Angelo Mathews lunges to defend.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Around middle and off, Dhananjaya gets across and nudges it towards short fine leg.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Flighted, outside off, the skipper goes hard on the drive and gets a bottom edge back to the bowler.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Full, outside off, de Silva leans and drives it through the covers for a couple.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, On middle and leg, Dhananjaya de Silva goes back and tucks it to backward square leg.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Fuller, around middle, Mathews leans and flicks it in front of short leg. Marnus Labuschagne gets a bad bounce and just about takes his head away from the ball in time. A single taken to deep square leg.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Landed around middle, 87 kph, Angelo Mathews works it towards short leg.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Fuller again, around off, Dhananjaya de Silva lunges and defends it towards silly point.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Flighted full, around off and middle, Dhananjaya de Silva blocks it back to the bowler.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Nagging length, outside off, Dhananjaya de Silva presses back and cuts it but again finds that extra cover fielder. 

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Much slower through the air, around middle, Dhananjaya de Silva turns it towards mid-wicket.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Too short, outside off, Dhananjaya de Silva misses out on that one as he cuts it hard but straight to the extra cover fielder.

Matthew Kuhnemann to Dhananjaya de Silva, Starts from around the wicket, tossed up, around off, Dhananjaya de Silva lunges and defends it right under his eyes.

Seems like Nathan Lyon is off the field. Nathan McSweeney is on as a substitute. Matthew Kuhnemann comes back on. 9-3-21-2 so far.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Flighted ball, just around off, Angelo Mathews blocks it on the front foot.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Tossed up on the stumps, Angelo Mathews steers it to short leg.

Travis Head to Dhananjaya de Silva, Shorter and spinning into the batter, around off, Dhananjaya de Silva is on the back foot and punches it through cover-point fir a single.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Lands on middle and full in length, turning in, Angelo Mathews clips it to short fine for a single.

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Full and outside off again, Angelo Mathews leans on it and drives it past covers for a couple of more runs. Should have been three and Mathews even set off for the third but Dhananjaya de Silva sends him back. 

Travis Head to Angelo Mathews, Pushed through, full and outside off, Angelo Mathews first looks to sweep it away but realizes that he has gone too close to the ball and adjusts it by driving it to deep backward point for a couple of runs.

Travis Head (6-0-19-0) is back. He replaces Matthew Kuhnemann.

Nathan Lyon to Dhananjaya de Silva, Nagging length, around off, Dhananjaya de Silva comes forward and defends it back to the bowler.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, Drags his length a bit, around middle, Angelo Mathews presses back and turns it towards square leg for a single.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, BEATEN! Much slower through the air, just outside off, Angelo Mathews changes his stance and looks to reverse sweep it but misses as the ball goes through the gap between bat and pad. The keeper collects the ball and dislodges the bails but Mathews is well inside of the crease.

Nathan Lyon to Angelo Mathews, Keeps it shorter, around leg, Mathews blocks it towards short leg.