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The team has never won the IPL title, and finished sixth in each of the three seasons Anil Kumble was their coach

ESPNcricinfo staff and PTI03-Sep-2022 • Updated on 16-Sep-2022Punjab Kings have appointed Trevor Bayliss as head coach ahead of IPL 2023, after Anil Kumble’s contract was not renewed. Kings had failed to make the playoffs for three consecutive seasons under Kumble.Bayliss comes with a lot of pedigree, not just internationally but also in the IPL. He was the head coach of England when they won the 2019 ODI World Cup and was also the chief coach at Kolkata Knight Riders when they won the IPL in 2012 and 2014. More recently, Bayliss was the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Bayliss recently coached London Spirit at the men’s Hundred event in England.Kings have qualified for the playoffs only twice despite being a part of the IPL from the very beginning (as Kings XI Punjab). The first time was in the inaugural season, 2008, when they made the semi-finals, and then in 2014, when they finished runners-up to Knight Riders. They have finished sixth in each of the last four seasons.The decision to let Kumble go was taken by a board comprising co-owners Preity Zinta, Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia and Karan Paul, as well as Kings’ chief executive officer Satish Menon.Related

• Wasim Jaffer reappointed as batting coach of Punjab Kings ahead of IPL 2023

• Shikhar Dhawan to replace Mayank Agarwal as Punjab Kings captain from IPL 2023

• Brian Lara takes over from Tom Moody as Sunrisers head coach

• IPL 2023-27 India subcontinent TV and digital rights sold for $5.1 billion

Kumble joined Kings in 2020. At the time, he became the fifth coach Kings had appointed in five seasons after Sanjay Bangar (2014-16), Virender Sehwag (2017), Brad Hodge (2018) and Mike Hesson (2019).In 2020, Kumble was the only Indian head coach in IPL. Kings were the third IPL team he had worked with after his playing days, having earlier served as mentor for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians. This was before he took the job of India head coach for a year in 2016.Under Kumble, Kings won 19 and lost 23 matches over three seasons. That is the second worst win-loss ratio for any team in IPL since 2020, only behind Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Saha has just recovered from Covid-19, which he contracted during the IPL

Nagraj Gollapudi20-May-2021Andhra wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat has been included as a standby for Wriddhiman Saha for India’s tour of England comprising the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and the five-Test series against the hosts. Saha had recently recovered from Covid-19.Bharat reached Mumbai on May 19 where most of the Indian contingent will be serving a two-week quarantine in their hotel rooms before boarding a flight to London on June 2. Bharat, who has been a regular wicketkeeper for India A, was also one of the standbys for India’s home Tests against England in February-March.Related

• Dravid predicts 3-2 scoreline for India in England

• Saha, Mishra, Prasidh Krishna recover from Covid-19

• No Hardik, Kuldeep in India's squad of 20 for WTC final and England Tests

Bharat’s inclusion – a last-minute development – is a precautionary move taken by the selectors. While announcing the 20-man squad for the England trip, they had announced Rishabh Pant and Saha as the two wicketkeepers. Saha had tested positive for Covid-19 a day before the BCCI suspended the IPL.Saha, who represents the Sunrisers Hyderabad, spent two weeks in quarantine in Delhi before returning home to Kolkata this week. Having been away on India duty since the England series in February followed by the IPL, Saha sought permission from the BCCI to visit his family before joining the Indian squad in Mumbai next week.

Will Pant get a game? Will India swap Jadhav for Pandey? They have questions to answer

The Preview by Deivarayan Muthu10-Feb-20206:09

Can India find an answer to Ross Taylor?

Big picture

As if injuries to Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry weren’t enough, New Zealand were hampered by absence of Scott Kuggleijn and Mitchell Santner for the second ODI. Tim Southee, too, battled an illness while Ish Sodhi had been released to play a four-dayer against India A in Lincoln.Southee soldiered on and meticulously took down India captain Virat Kohli, but had to leave the field after finishing his ten overs. So depleted were New Zealand that they had to call their assistant coach Luke Ronchi as a substitute fielder. Yet, they dug deep enough to overcome a batting collapse and a late scare from Ravindra Jadeja to sew up the series.But problems – even outside fitness reasons – persist. Ross Taylor has fired in both the ODIs, but the rest of the middle-order has faltered. Williamson’s return at Bay Oval, his home ground, could remedy some of those issues. He had a proper workout on the eve of the game, and is set to resume his mouth-watering tussle against Jasprit Bumrah. Santner and Kuggleijn are also coming along well, according to bowling coach Shane Jurgensen, while Sodhi has flown back to Mount Maunganui and rejoined the squad along with fast bowler Blair Tickner.After India had conceded the series in Auckland, Kohli reckoned that the team management might use this dead rubber to test out their bench. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who hasn’t played a single match so far on tour, might get a look-in on Tuesday. Will there be some room in the middle order for Manish Pandey too? Allrounder Shivam Dube is also among India’s reserves and hasn’t played in the team’s last nine ODIs.

Form guide

New Zealand WWTWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
India LLWWLKedar Jadhav works one off his hip•BCCI

In the spotlight

Colin de Grandhomme din’t bowl in two of the three T20Is he played, but has been pretty tidy with the ball in the two ODIs. After removing Prithvi Shaw with an outswinger in the first game, he tricked KL Rahul into cutting a ball that was neither short or wide enough for the shot. His batting form, though, has cooled off and he has floated down the order as the hosts have looked to maintain a left-right combination. Can he land the mighty blows with the bat on Tuesday?There has been plenty of scrutiny over Kedar Jadhav‘s role in the current set-up. The 34-year old has played some charming cameos while coming in with just a few deliveries left, but has bowled all of one over with the ball since the World Cup. Jadhav has one more opportunity in Mount Maunganui before the new selection panel picks the squad for the three-match ODI series at home against South Africa in March.

Team news

Having been severely depleted by injuries and illness, New Zealand have called in reinforcements in the form of Sodhi and Tickner.New Zealand (probable): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Henry Nicholls, 3 Kane Williamson (capt.), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Colin de Grandhomme, 8 Tim Southee, 9 Kyle Jamieson, 10 Ish Sodhi/Mitchell Santner, 11 Hamish Bennett/Scott KuggleijnHaving given Mohammed Shami a break at Eden Park, India might look to rest Bumrah ahead of the Test series and bring back Shami. And it remains to be seen whether Pant will take over the gloves from Rahul.India (probable): 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Prithvi Shaw, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Shreyas Iyer, 5 KL Rahul/Rishabh Pant, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Kedar Jadhav/Manish Pandey/Shivam Dube, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal/Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Mohammed Shami/Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The Bay Oval rolled out a fairly slow track the last time these two sides met in an ODI at this venue in 2019. The T20I game that the Bay Oval had hosted last week was also similarly slow and provided some assistance to the bowlers. The weather is likely to be nice and pleasant for the duration of the match.

Stats and trivia

• The last time India were whitewashed in a bilateral ODI series of three or more matches was in 1997 when they lost 3-0 in Sri Lanka.*
• India have played two ODIs at this venue and have won both.
• Henry Nicholls has made 315 runs in 10 ODI innings as an opener at an average of 35 and strike rate of 70. His last three scores at the top read: 41, 78 and 55.

Quotes

“The T20 series didn’t go according to plan, but we knew we weren’t too far off. We’ve played some good cricket in the one-dayers…although we’re missing a couple of guys, as a whole, the one-day side has been tracking pretty good.”
“I think Taylor’s batting really well. Once he’s set he can play on the leg side like he’s a God. We have to be precise bowling to him.”

The opener stayed unbeaten through the chase, notching a career-best 79* to lift his side off the bottom of the table

The Report by Liam Brickhill28-Nov-2018Tshwane Spartans have the leading six-hitter and the most effective bowler of the Mzansi Super League in their ranks, but before today they had lost three of their four matches. AB de Villiers added to his sixes tally, while Jeevan Mendis took his 11th wicket, but it was Dean Elgar who made the most telling contribution against Jozi Stars, carrying his bat for a career-best 79 not out from 52 deliveries to deliver a vital win with three balls to spare. Elgar cracked five fours and four sixes as Spartans chased down Stars’ 186 for 5 to win the Gauteng derby by four wickets, completing a record T20 run chase at SuperSport Park.Opening the batting, Elgar set the pace in Spartans’ chase with three fours and two sixes inside the Powerplay. Elgar had to weather a bristling opening spell from Kagiso Rabada, while at the other end Simon Harmer struck repeatedly to dent Spartans’ line-up. Harmer removed the pinch-hitting Corbin Bosch and Theunis de Bruyn with consecutive deliveries, but Elgar found the boundary whenever it was needed and alongside de Villiers, added 68 for the fourth wicket in quick time to push the innings forward.As Elgar brought up a 30-ball fifty in the 11th over, de Villiers gave an all too brief exhibition of astonishing T20 strokeplay, flicking seamer Dwaine Pretorius over fine leg with a paddle sweep for six as he started to hit his straps. De Villiers then launched an assault in Eddie Leie’s second over, reverse sweeping to third man and then sending the ball sailing twice over midwicket with a pair of powerful slog sweeps.Pretorius soon wrought revenge, however, de Villiers slicing a full ball straight to Ryan Rickelton at long off to depart for 39. But vitally, Elgar remained, and he took Spartans closer with a 41-run stand with Tony de Zorzi, the 150 coming up in the 16th over. Spartans were left needing 41 from the last five overs, which was par for the course, but the quick dismissals of de Zorzi and Robbie Frylinck in consecutive overs set up a tight finish.Still, Elgar batted on and as long as he remained, the advantage was always with Spartans. Sean Williams, batting as low as no. 8, tipped the balance with a top-edged pull for four off Rabada in the penultimate over, and then hit the winning runs by slicing a full toss from Beuran Hendricks to the third man boundary.While Elgar had kept Spartans ticking over throughout their chase, Jozi’s innings had been bookended by contrasting knocks from Reeza Hendricks and Pite van Biljon. Rickelton, who narrowly missed out on a hundred against Paarl Rocks a week ago, was very much the secondary partner in an opening stand of 54 as Hendricks repeatedly pierced the cover boundary with an exhibition of classical shots.Hendricks’ first boundary was gifted to him via overthrows, but he hit five more fours off the next 10 balls he faced with rather more authority. With Hendricks particularly fluent through the off side, Eldred Hawken leaked 10 runs from his first over, Bosch 15 from his second, and Stars took 53 from the Powerplay.Once de Villiers turned to his spinners, however, the scoring rate immediately dipped. Mendis added to his wickets tally almost straight away when Rickelton gloved a sweep to be well caught by a diving Gihahn Cloete behind the stumps.Between the sixth and the 14th overs, Stars managed just one boundary off the bat, with Williams flighting the ball more than usual and collecting a miserly 0 for 14 from his four overs. Hendricks went to a 48-ball fifty, but he became Mendis’ second victim when he was caught in the deep for 55.The re-introduction of seam changed the momentum of the innings, van Biljon and Dane Vilas pillaging 19 runs off the 17th over of the innings, bowled by Frylinck, and 20 off the penultimate over of the innings, bowled by Lutho Sipamla, as 67 runs flowed from the last four overs. But that wasn’t quite enough to make up for the middle order dip, and Elgar’s efforts meant that Spartans moved up from the bottom of the points table to third, while Stars slipped to fourth.

The visitors will play three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is over 37 days in November and December

Arun Venugopal02-Oct-2017Sri Lanka arrive in India next month for a cramped tour that will have them playing three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in 37 days, with the first Test likely to begin in Kolkata on November 16, and final match to be played on December 24.

India v SL fixtures

1st Test: November 16-20, Kolkata
2nd Test: November 24-28, Nagpur
3rd Test: December 2-6, Delhi
1st ODI: December 10, Dharamsala
2nd ODI: December 13, Mohali
3rd ODI December 17, Visakhapatnam
1st T20I: December 20, Cuttack
2nd T20I: December 22, Indore
3rd T20I: December 24, Mumbai

Nagpur and Delhi will host the second and third Tests, before the limited-overs leg kicks off with the first ODI in Dharamsala on December 10. Mohali and Visakhapatnam complete the ODI fixtures, after which the T20Is will be held in Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai. While the BCCI hasn’t made an official announcement yet, ESPNcricinfo verified the schedule with most of the hosting centres.The second Test will be Nagpur’s first Test since the ICC gave the Jamtha surface a ‘poor’ rating during the series against South Africa in 2015. The pitch in Nagpur has since been relaid, and it hosted the fifth ODI between India and Australia on October 1.Indore and Mumbai will be staging their second international games in the space of a few months, both hosting T20Is against Sri Lanka. Indore hosted an ODI against Australia, and Mumbai will host a New Zealand ODI. Thiruvananthapuram, which had been initially allotted a T20I against Sri Lanka, will now host a T20I against New Zealand on November 7 after swapping fixtures with Cuttack.”We were initially supposed to host Sri Lanka in December and Odisha [Cuttack] were supposed to host the New Zealand game in November,” Kerala Cricket Association secretary Jayesh George told ESPNcricinfo. “But, there is a festival in Odisha in November, so we are now hosting the New Zealand game instead.”This will be the second bilateral series between the two teams in the space of a few months. In July-August, India traveled to Sri Lanka and thumped the home side 9-0 across all formats.

Jeetan Patel was hailed as ‘one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had’ by Ian Bell a match-winning five-wicket haul

George Dobell at Edgbaston29-Aug-2016
ScorecardJeetan Patel claimed a five-wicket haul – all lbw – as Warwickshire earned a trip to Lord’s•Getty Images

Jeetan Patel was hailed as “one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had” by Ian Bell after his career-best one-day bowling performance guided his side to the final of the Royal London Cup.Patel, with the first five-wicket haul of a limited-overs career that stretches back to the previous century, expertly applied pressure on a Somerset batting order chasing a testing target on a slow, used surface. With some balls turning and some skidding on, Patel claimed all his dismissals with leg before shouts, punishing Somerset’s habit of playing across the line. Warwickshire will play Surrey in the final at Lord’s on September 17.When Patel signed for Warwickshire in 2009, he looked a modest addition. He was not the sort of star name that increased the gate and did not have the sort of record – he had a first-class bowling average above 40 – that suggested he would prove a match-winner.But a star he has been. He has taken at least 50 wickets in each of the last five first-class county seasons – he is the leading wicket-taker in Division One of the County Championship this year – improved his batting to the point where he averages 26.69 for Warwickshire in first-class cricket (with two centuries and 11 half-centuries) and proved himself indispensable. He deserves to be rated, alongside Allan Donald, Brian Lara, Rohan Kanhai and the rest, as the best Warwickshire have had.He has already agreed to return in 2017 and, if the club ask, will sign for 2018 as well. He insists he has not thought about qualifying for England (“wouldn’t I just be holding back a young fella?” was his typically no nonsense response to that question) but admitted it was an intriguing idea. Nobody in England bowls spin anywhere near this standard.Or New Zealand for that matter. But Patel turned down the last approach for a recall a couple of years ago reasoning that leaving in the middle of a county season may compromise his relatively secure day job with Warwickshire for two weeks of modestly-paid international cricket. He is, though, a far better bowler – and batsman, actually – than the man who last played international cricket in January 2013.He did not play a lone hand here, though. Oliver Hannon-Dalby, bowling with control and skill, produced his best Warwickshire performance of the season and gained movement off the seam that was largely absent to other seamers, while Warwickshire’s top three all batted with maturity and skill. Both teams felt their final total – 284 – was about 20 above par on this surface.The Warwickshire method is not fashionable. Whereas conventional wisdom insists that modern batsmen must blast the ball into the stands, Warwickshire have several accumulators who are more adept at finding gaps, rotating the strike and playing the percentages.Perhaps, on the perfect batting tracks that currently prevail in ODIs, such a tactic might be passé, but on county surfaces (this pitch had been used on T20 Finals Day) it is highly effective. You pretty much know what you’re going to get from them: they scored 283 in both their previous List A games and 284 here.Sam Hain, now the leading run-scorer in the competition this season, set the tone in an opening stand of 90 with Jonathan Trott. While Trott, who looks in sublime form, was deceived by a fine slower ball from Roelof van der Merwe, Bell judged the conditions expertly and produced his highest score in any format since the second week of April in ensuring they set a testing target. “You’re going to see a lot of Hain in the future,” Bell said afterwards.Warwickshire only managed one boundary from the end of the 33rd over to mid-way through the 45th (and only hit three fours in their last 10 overs) and, from a base of 149 for 1` after 30 overs, may have felt they finished 20 or so short of the total they wanted.But Bell provided some late acceleration. He took 16 off van der Merwe’s final three balls, rather denting his figures in the process, with one of the two sixes driven into the third tier of Warwickshire’s new pavilion. It is hard to recall a bigger hit since the redevelopment.With Tim Ambrose injured while batting – he appears to pull a hamstring, though Warwickshire say they are confident that he will be fit for their Championship match against Middlesex in mid-week – Somerset sportingly allowed Warwickshire to bring in Alex Mellor as a specialist substitute with the gloves.Mellor, who has been on loan with Derbyshire and had never before kept for Warwickshire in first team cricket, was just settling down for an afternoon in the sun of his Staffordshire garden when the phone went demanding his presence at Edgbaston, but he made good time and took the gloves a few overs into the Somerset reply.He took a key catch, too. Tom Abell, had batted beautifully in adding 75 with Peter Trego and appeared to have put Somerset on track. But with Hannon-Dalby’s tight first spell increasing the pressure, Abell attempted to hit one from Chris Wright through mid-on and somehow edged a high catch to young Mellor.When Trego missed an attempted pull off Patel, it precipitated a decline that saw four wickets fall – all to Patel and all leg before – for the addition of just 16 runs. Warwickshire supporters started booking their trains and hotels.But Ryan Davies, hitting the ball with a crispness that belied a previous List A best of just 14, had other ideas. He added 71 in 10 overs with James Hildreth, who survived a missed stumping off Josh Poysden when he had 17 and, even after the latter drove to mid-off and Davies became Patel’s final victim, Tom Groenewald and Max Waller continued the charge.But Hannon-Dalby wasn’t going to allow 16 required off the final over and it was Warwickshire who progressed to Lord’s.It is to be hoped it raises spirits around Edgbaston. There have been faces as long as Livery Street – as they say locally – round here of late with a disappointing T20 campaign followed by a decline in the Championship. This cup run does not make everything better – there were only three locally developed players in this Warwickshire side (Somerset fielded six) that remains uncomfortably reliant upon cricketers in their mid-30s – but it will perhaps prove enough of a boost to end talk of a clear-out.”We showed some character,” Matt Maynard, the Somerset coach said afterwards. “We looked dead and buried a few times there. But we let the rate get up when we batted and we let them score 20 too many when we bowled. It was only the second game we have lost all competition, but it’s in a semi-final.””Our fielding standards can improve,” Bell said. “But I’m very proud of the way we’ve played. Jeetan goes under the radar a bit, but he is one of the best overseas players Warwickshire have ever had. We’re lucky to have him.”

Michael Clarke has put the onus on himself to turnaround the performances of Australia’s under performing middle order

Daniel Brettig at Edgbaston31-Jul-2015Australia’s embattled captain Michael Clarke will consider moving down the order ahead of the fourth Test against England, but has emphatically declared he still believes he is worth his place in the team following another grim display in his side’s humiliating defeat at Edgbaston.Clarke made a tortured 10 and 3 and dropped a straightforward slips catch as England rumbled to an eight-wicket victory, prompting the most pointed questions yet about his future in the XI. While conceding that right now “they’ve got 11 and we’ve only got 10″ players due to his dreadful run of scoring, Clarke was bullish about his own place in the team and that he had the ability to regain touch.”I think it’s always going to be hard to beat any opposition when they’ve got 11 and we’ve only 10,” he said. “At the moment that’s how it feels. With my performances so far I certainly haven’t led from the front like i’d like to do as captain. I’ve always made that very clear, that’s a big part of my role as leader of this team that I’m scoring plenty of runs and leading by example.”It’s always going to be difficult … No.4 is such a critical position. You need to make sure you’re scoring a lot more runs than I have been so far. My self belief is still there and that’s because I continued to work as hard as I have throughout my career. For me to have success, it’s always been about my preparation and working hard. That gives me my best chance. At the end of the day, you can only do your best. While I keep doing the preparation I’m doing, I believe I can have success out in the middle.”One of the issues being created by Clarke’s poor form is that England’s avenue into an inexperienced Australian middle order is becoming wider with each match. The No. 5 batsman Adam Voges started this series in strong shape but has declined at least partly because he is continually being asked to come in after the fall of two quick wickets – the second invariably the captain’s. Clarke will ponder moving down the order depending on the side chosen for Trent Bridge, which may yet feature Shaun Marsh in place of Voges.”I will wait and see what XI the selectors give me,” Clarke said. “It’s never bothered me, statistically it shows that I have performed a lot better at No. 5 than No. 4 but it’s not like I have walked in at 2 for 10 throughout this series, I think our whole top order has done a really good job. The number is irrelevant, it is about what’s best for the team. If the team need me to bat at four if the team needs me to bat at five I will bat at five.”Clarke has been a habitually hard trainer over his 11 years in the Test side, and said he now needed to work out what was his best preparation for the pivotal fourth match of the series, taking into account his lack of runs but also the wages of a long tour that also included a month in the Caribbean before arriving in England. He looked a tired man by the end of the game, fielding at mid-off to protect his fingers after the chance dropped off Ian Bell.”It’s a tough balance,” Clarke said. “A lot of players it helps them to have time away, I think of someone like Ricky Ponting who used to go and play a week of golf then walk on to the field and make a 100 without picking up a bat at training. That’s never really been me and that was the reason I played at Derby.”The selectors asked me if I wanted to have that game off but I wanted to go to make sure I could do my training and have a bat as well. The next few days will be about balance when I am not training, trying to get away from the game and clear my head but training is still a big part. That’s what’s given me the success I have had throughout my career I have stuck to it to date and don’t think I will change now.”As for the result, Clarke said it was undeniable that the team had dropped off after their strong display at Lord’s. “It’s another kick up the backside, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “We showed at Lord’s how we can play and I made it very clear after that game that it was only one Test. We have to perform like that if we want to win over here. It’s no coincidence it’s been really hard to have success in England.”You need to play like that every Test match if you want to win and we need to turn things around and just keep believing. It was only a few days ago that we played some wonderful cricket. So we know we’ve got it in us , we just have to turn up and be ready in Nottingham.”

Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Jayawardene helped Sri Lanka to a total of 294 when they were dismissed late on the first day in Sydney

The Report by Brydon Coverdale02-Jan-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsJackson Bird picked up 4 for 41•AFP

Six days ago, while the Sri Lankans were capitulating to lose the Boxing Day Test, Lahiru Thirimanne was back home in Sri Lanka enjoying a day off in between one-day commitments for Ragama. He must have been as surprised as anyone to find himself batting on the opening day of a Test match at the SCG less than a week later. Thirimanne acclimatised to his new role quickly and although he narrowly missed out on a maiden Test century, he ensured Sri Lanka were able to bat until stumps. Just.At the close of play, the Sri Lankans had just been dismissed for 294. It could have been better had Thirimanne or Mahela Jayawardene, who both made half-centuries, gone on to triple figures. But it could also have been much worse after the Sri Lankans were sent in by Michael Clarke, who had chosen four fast bowlers on a pitch tinged with green grass. Jackson Bird finished with 4 for 41 and Mitchell Starc bounced back from his rest over the Christmas period with 3 for 71, and while it took until nearly 6pm, Clarke would have been pleased to end the day with the Sri Lankans all out.For a while, that appeared unlikely as Thirimanne and Jayawardene steered Sri Lanka to 2 for 134, and later the score was 4 for 222. But once Australia’s bowlers found their way into the tail, the end came quickly. The final five wickets fell for 44 and a briefly entertaining last-wicket stand of 21 between Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep had the unexpected benefit for Australia of allowing Ed Cowan and David Warner to start their innings on the second morning instead of late on the first evening.Pradeep finished on 17 not out, his highest first-class score, and Lakmal was the last man out when he edged to slip for 5 off the bowling of Bird. It was the third catch of the day for the retiring Michael Hussey, who also put one down early in Jayawardene’s innings. Bird had also picked up the wicket of Rangana Herath, who skied a catch to mid-off for 5, shortly after the last of the recognised batsmen, Dinesh Chandimal, was superbly yorked by Starc for 24.Starc had been involved in the previous wicket as well, when he took a diving catch at mid-on to get rid of Dhammika Prasad, whose heaving pull off Peter Siddle was a shot deserving of a dismissal. Another fine catch had brought Prasad to the crease, when Thirimanne, on 91, was deceived by Nathan Lyon. Thirimanne drove hard at a ball that was wider than he expected, and his edge lobbed up towards point and was brilliantly taken by a diving David Warner.It was a disappointing end for Thirimanne, who was initially scratchy and struggled to rotate the strike, but found his touch as the innings wore on. Thirimanne would not have played this match but for Sri Lanka suffering two injuries to their top seven. Chandimal, the backup batsman in the squad, came in for Kumar Sangakkara and when Prasanna Jayawardene was also ruled out due to his broken thumb, it allowed Thirimanne to play his eighth Test.He was impressive in his 151-ball innings and scored 13 fours and one six. He drove with authority and used his feet to Lyon, also pulling strongly against the fast bowling. Thirimanne had been fortunate to make it that far; he was given out lbw for a golden duck when Bird bowled full and straight, but after some consideration Thirimanne asked for a review and was reprieved as replays indicated the ball had pitched a fraction outside leg stump.Jaywardene also had a lucky break early. On 4, he edged Siddle to second slip and Hussey was slow to react to a chance he should have taken, and managed only to get his left hand to the ball, which then ran away to the boundary. It was a very similar shot that brought Jayawardene his half-century, another edge that this time bounced just in front of Hussey before running to third man for four. It ended a three-year drought for Jayawardene, who had last made a Test fifty away from home in November 2009.He was fluent in his 110-ball innings, which featured 12 fours and a six. He was strong through point and when flicking through the leg side, and he also used his feet Lyon. However, on 72 Jayawardene was caught at slip driving hard at a Starc delivery angled across him and after the third umpire checked for a no-ball and found Starc’s heel had landed legally and then slid forward, it was the end of an encouraging 62-run stand for Sri Lanka.Thilan Samaraweera (12) and Angelo Mathews (15) both made starts but failed to go on; Samaraweera was plumb lbw to Siddle and Mathews edged Starc to Hussey at second slip. It was a busy day in the field for Hussey, who had brought about the first wicket of the day when Dimuth Karunaratne (5) went for a pull from just outside off stump and top-edged Bird high and over the slips cordon and was taken by Hussey, running back with the flight of the ball from second slip.Bird, the best of Australia’s bowlers, also got rid of Karunaratne’s opening partner, Tillakaratne Dilshan, who occupied the crease for 100 minutes before he was caught behind for 34. They were the only two wickets the Australians picked up in the first session, but by stumps the bowlers had done what Clarke wanted. Now, it’s up to Australia’s shortened batting line-up.