Australia is on the verge of a comprehensive victory in the Warne–Muralitharan Trophy series opener after Sri Lanka lost eight wickets in the morning session of day four in Galle.

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The hosts are 3-75 at lunch, still trailing by 414 runs after Australia enforced the follow-on, with Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews (34*) unbeaten in the middle.

Earlier on Saturday, spinners Matthew Kuhenmann and Nathan Lyon cleaned up the lower order as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 165 in 52.2 overs, losing 5-9 in a frantic collapse to hand Australia a 489-run first-innings lead, the nation’s fourth-highest in Test history. Kuhnemann claimed 5-63 from 18.2 overs, his second five-wicket haul in Tests, while Lyon finished with 3-57 before dismissing batter Dinesh Chandimal twice in a session.

Captain Steve Smith didn’t think twice before enforcing the follow-on, with the carnage continuing in Sri Lanka’s second innings.

MATCH CENTRE: Sri Lanka vs Australia first Test scorecard

Resuming at 5-136, Sri Lanka’s hopes of stealing a draw from the jaws of defeat rested heavily on batter Dinesh Chandimal and wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis, the team’s last recognised batters. However, Kuhnemann broke the 49-run stand when Mendis top-edged a sweep shot towards Todd Murphy at square leg for 21.

The dangerous Chandimal departed for 72 after missing a reverse sweep against Lyon, while a desperate review for LBW couldn’t save the Sri Lankan. Prabath Jayasuriya was stumped for a sixth-ball duck after needlessly charging down the deck at Kuhnemann before Nishan Peiris was caught at short leg following a tentative prod against Lyon.

With six fielders crowded around the bat, Kuhnemann secured his five-wicket haul when tailender Jeffrey Vandersay miscued a wild slog towards cover, where Mitchell Starc settled underneath a regulation catch.

Sri Lanka’s second innings got off to a dreadful start, with both openers back in the sheds within four overs. Starc produced an inswinging yorker to trap Oshada Fernando on the pads for 6 before Dimuth Karunaratne was bowled for a fourth-ball duck following an ill-judged leave against spinner Murphy, with the delivery clipping the top of off stump.

Chandimal and Sri Lankan veteran Angelo Mathews combined for a 69-run partnership for the third wicket to stem the flow of wickets, with Murphy conceding three consecutive boundaries. However, Lyon struck on the final delivery of the morning session when captain Smith successfully called for a review, with replays confirming the ball brushed Chandimal’s bat before Travis Head completed a catch at short leg.

Australia has not won a Test series in Sri Lanka since 2011.

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DAY 4 PREVIEW

Sri Lanka on day three lost two more wickets from their overnight 3-44. But Chandimal, who was promoted to the crucial No. 3 position last year and has since averaged over 50, stood firm despite the uphill battle to avoid the follow-on.

“It’s going to require something magnificent from Dinesh Chandimal,” commentator Adam Collins told SEN Cricket.

“He knows how the play the lone hand. He did so against Australis a few years ago.”

Captain Dhananjaya de Silva looked comfortable at the wicket on Friday, producing consecutive boundaries against Todd Murphy. But in the next over, he rushed down the track to Matthew Kuhnemann and missed the ball completely, gifting Alex Carey a regulation stumping and leaving for 22.

Kuhnemann post-play credited stand-in skipper Steve Smith for the de Silva dismissal.

“That was probably down to ‘Smudge’,” Kuhnemann said. “He made the field adjustment, he brought mid-off up and brought mid-on even further up and around.

“His message is for me to bowl my best ball and do that consistently and then we come up with a plan, but that was all him – credit to Smudge for that wicket.

“Tactically he’s a genius. He’ll have under cover what he wants us to do. For us bowlers it’s about bowling our best ball and then Smudge looks after the rest.”

Australia declared at 654-6 late on the second day after opener Usman Khawaja’s career-best 232.

Asked if his team batted too long on the first two days, Kuhnemann said: “Not at all. I think the boys batted beautifully and you saw today there was a bit more spin – the first couple of days are always the best time to bat.

“It’s just about how we adapt to conditions with the game moving forward, but hopefully it starts to spin a bit more. It is still nice to bat on, as you’ve seen they’ve played some beautiful shots.”

Picturesque Galle will also host the second and final match of the series next week before a two-match ODI series in Colombo.

— AFP