Sri Lanka on the ropes after Australia batting blitz rewrites records

Sri Lanka struggles against Australia's fielding and batting prowess, facing a challenging situation on a deteriorating pitch.

Sri Lanka was staring down the barrel at 44-3 after Australia achieved its largest ever total in Asia — 654-6 declared — on day two of the first test on Thursday.

Fatigued after spending five and a half sessions fielding under the scorching sun, Sri Lanka's batting resistance was minimal.

Oshada Fernando was the first to fall for 7, trapped leg before by Matthew Kuhnemann, setting the tone for a challenging evening.

Former captains Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews didn't last long either, both victims of Australia's exceptional fielding.

Karunaratne fell on 7 to a spectacular catch at gully off Mitchell Starc, and Mathews was dismissed for 7 in stunning fashion — caught by Travis Head from bat-pad to Nathan Lyon's off-spin.

Dinesh Chandimal and Kamindu Mendis weathered some testing moments to reach stumps as Sri Lanka remain precariously placed at 610 runs down with three days to go on a deteriorating pitch.

“We are far too behind in the game at the moment,” Sri Lanka leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay said. “I don't think there's too much on the wicket. They had clear plans against all our spinners. The important thing is to get closer to their total. We should not focus on reaching the follow-on.” Australia resumed the day on 330-2 with opener Usman Khawaja and stand-in captain Steve Smith already on centuries.