A battling day for both sides.

Australia will be thrilled with the nine wickets, especially eight wickets in the second and third sessions, but the bowlers had to work hard after a couple of gritty partnerships.

Sri Lanka won’t be best pleased with its final score after winning the toss and choosing to bat, but 200-plus feels like it could be above par on this pitch.

We’ll find out more tomorrow, but let’s just say I can’t see this being a long Test match.

Please join us again tomorrow.

Matt Kuhnemann is trying to prise Kusal Mendis out.

Three balls coolly negotiated.

Make it four, as Kuhnemann is maybe a little too full.

Mendis takes a single off the penultimate ball, giving Kumara one delivery to survive.

Everyone is around the bat. Kuhnemann is chatting to Nathan Lyon to try to ice the number 11.

He defends and that’s that!

He’s outside off, but Kumara isn’t tempted.

Two slips and a player on each side of the pitch under the helmet.

Kumara defends the first ball that ends up on the stumps. His defence looks so much safer than Jayasuriya or Nishan.

A little more turn and bounce almost finds the edge.

Kumara makes it through.

Kusal Mendis carves out into deep point and rejects the single.

Another big slash out through cover, and he has to say no to a single.

Starc’s trying to tempt Mendis into something, but he won’t give it away.

The field comes up for the final two balls to prevent the single.

This time he does chase a wide one, but can’t pierce the ring field.

FOUR! Mendis pierces the field, but it’s a stalemate because Kumara will have to be on strike to start the next over anyway.

How bad is Kumara at batting if he’s behind Jayasuriya and Nishan?

Already, he defends the rest of the over and looks better than the last two.

Usman Khawaja is a relieved man as Kumara makes it through.

If the innings ended in that over, he and Travis Head would have to come out for one over to end the day.

Nishan Peiris plays inside the straighter one and he’s out for a three-ball duck as his off stump is rocked.

Horrible batting, even from a number 10, to not be able build a half-decent forward to defence to a spinner on a slow deck.

Can he find a single to get up the other end?

…

Nope.

A big waft outside off from Kusal, who misses out.

Bang! Another big slash outside off and this time he launches over backward point for four. He’s going to attack as a means of defence here.

Maybe take a single to try to farm the strike late in the over, but Starc will try to bowl some limited-overs stuff to prevent that.

Expect bouncers and maybe some wide yorkers.

There’s the short ball. Kusal hooks but straight to square leg on the half-volley.

Well bowled from Starc, keeping the tail-ender on strike to start the next over with a straight one that Kusal can’t noodle behind square.

A pivotal 50 for the keeper-batter, showing grit and class in this dig to prove once again that he’s not just a big hitter.

Wow, Sri Lanka could do with a Jeffrey Vandersay type at number 10. Instead, it’s Nishan Peiris out there with Kusal Mendis, who must farm the strike.

Four! Cut away behind point by Kusal Mendis and that takes him to 49 runs.

He finds the out-swinger to Nishan Peiris, but he’s a bit too wide and it misses the outside edge.

Prabath Jayasuriya looks clueless again with bat in hand and he’s gone for a golden duck.

Jayasuriya was nailed to the crease, perhaps waiting for the yorker or the bouncer, but it was a length ball across him. He hangs the bat out at it and the edge goes into the safe hands of Steve Smith in the slips.

Mitchell Starc bowls across the right-handed Ramesh Mendis, who has a think about pushing at it, then rethinks and tries to withdraw the bat but can’t do so in time. The edge is found and the catch is taken by Alex Carey.

And so ends an excellent, fighting, 65-run partnership between the Mendis’.

Kusal Mendis is making it look easy as he bunts a short wide ball away to deep point for a single.

That in-swing is gone. The ball is going gun-barrel straight. I think Starc is going mostly wobble seam or cross seam.

He tries a bouncer, but it’s too far down leg and too short.

The left-arm spinner is starting his 27th over.

A full-faced forward defence rockets to long-off.

The harder ball is offering some more turn and bounce to Kuhnemann.

The extra bounce makes Kuhnemann look a lot more dangerous. A good over to start.

He bowled a masterful spell of reverse swing a couple hours ago. Can he pull something off with some conventional swing as he so often does?

HUGE in-swing straight away. Right on the money from Starc. There’s half a shot for LBW but a big inside edge saves Kusal Mendis.

Too short off the next one and Kusal works off his thigh for a single.

A big wide one is chased by Ramesh but he misses out.

Starc is trying some wobble-seam deliveries. It looks like maybe the swing is gone already?

Aiming in at the stumps and Ramesh takes two out to deep mid-wicket.

Mitchell Starc is limbering up in the outfield.

He’s drifting it a long way outside off, but he just can’t find that purchase off the surface right now and Ramesh is happily pushing forward to defend.

That’s a maiden. The batters appear to be waiting to see what Australia is going to do with this new ball.

Matthew Kuhnemann is bowling it.

He starts wide and the ball stays low.

Ramesh Mendis is pushing outside off. One ball spins past the edge and there’s an encouraging sound, but it was just bat on the pitch.

The last ball of the over is again worked for a single to square leg and the second new ball is available.

Half a shout as Ramesh Mendis shoulders arms, the ball spins back in and hits him. The Aussies enquire about LBW, but it wasn’t spinning that much.