Australia have started the Test series against Sri Lanka in emphatic fashion, dismissing the hosts for 212 on day 1 of the first Test in Galle. As expected it was the spinners who ruled the roost, sharing 8 wickets among them. Veteran off spinner Nathan Lyon picked up his 20th five-wicket haul in Tests while leggie Mitchell Swepson chipped in with three wickets.
While the spinners bowled well, the Australian s were on the money in the field, taking some sharp catches to deflate the Sri Lankans.
The wicket of Lankan captain captain Dimuth Karunaratne was always going to be the key one and it came courtesy a magical diving catch by the ageless David Warner.
The ever alert Warner flew in from the slips and dived full length to take a great one handed catch. The the ball had ballooned up in the air after hitting the inside edge of Karunaratne's bat and then hitting the pad.
Watch: David Warner's flying catch to send back Karunaratne
The Sri Lankan captain had to depart after scoring a resilient 28 off 84 balls. Wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella's quick-fire 58 and Angelo Mathews' laboured 39 ensured the hosts got past the 200-run mark.
It will be interesting to see how the Australian batters respond to the Sri Lankan spinners.