Cricket:Australia's four-pronged pace attack overcame spirited resistance from Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Jayawardene before dismissing Sri Lanka for 294 to bring an end to the opening day of the third Test in Sydney on Thursday.
Both Thirimanne, who scored a career best 91 just three days after joining the squad as an emergency replacement, and Jayawardene, who hit 72 in his penultimate innings as captain, threatened to make a sunny day in Sydney their own.
Ultimately though, Australia captain Michael Clarke's decision on winning the toss to send his pacemen out to bowl first was all but vindicated and the hosts will have finished the day confident they can wrap up the series 3-0.
Jackson Bird, the least experienced of the pace quartet, took 4 for 41, Mitchell Starc 3 for 71 and Peter Siddle grabbed a brace with spinner Nathan Lyon pitching in to end Thirimanne’s knock just shy of his maiden Test century.
An unbeaten 69 from Dean Brownlie helped
New Zealand
reach 169 for four in their second innings on the second day of the first Test against
South Africa
in Cape Town.
The Proteas, who dismissed the touring side for just 45 on day one, declared their first innings on 347 for eight shortly after lunch with a lead of 302 and they were still 133 runs ahead at the close.
But New Zealand, largely through Brownlie and captain Brendon McCullum who made 51, offered much stronger resistance second time round, responding well to widespread condemnation of their woeful performance on Wednesday.
They were helped by some unusually fallible South African close catching with Brownlee getting let off twice in the final session and McCullum once.
New Zealand also bowled better in the morning session and made the ideal start when Trent Boult forced Alviro Petersen to play on after adding just three runs to his overnight score of 103.
Nasir Jamshed scored another century as
Pakistan
wrapped up the one-day international series against
India
with an 85-run win at Kolkata.
The tourists’ total of 250 proved enough to give them a second victory in this three-match series, as India managed just 165 in reply.
Jamshed was the star again, following his 101 in the series-opening six-wicket win at Chennai with 106 today.
The 23-year-old shared in an opening partnership of 141 with Mohammad Hafeez, which was only ended in the 24th over when Hafeez, attempting to sweep Ravindra Jadeja, missed and was bowled for 76, from 74 balls.