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Sri Lanka fought hard with the ball but Australia pushed ahead by close of play on the second day of the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
We’ll bring you the live scores of the action throughout this game, with the third day starting at 10.30 am AEST on January 5.
At one stage in the day, Australia looked to have taken full control of the game thanks to Dave Warner and Phil Hughes’ 80s. Warner in particular was at his destructive best and used up only 84 balls for his 85, while Hughes made 87.
This was after Ed Cowan was run out for four, the third time this series he has been involved in such a dismissal.
At 1/166 Australia would have fancied another score of more than 450 – after having gotten there twice this series already – but the Sri Lankans clawed back with regular wickets.
Michael Clarke helped himself to another half-century but a change of year brought his opponents a change in fortune. He did not add anything to his 50, only the third time since January 2011 he hasn’t converted a half into a hundred.
Michael Hussey scored 25 in what should be his penultimate innings, but became the second batsman to get run-out in the innings, to a direct hit from Dimuth Karunaratne.
Batting in the fourth innings is never easy, especially with a shortened Australian batting line-up. Australia will look to build on to their lead of 48 and with Matthew Wade (48) and Peter Siddle (16) still at the crease, they will fancy a shot at propelling it to at least 100.
The inexperienced Sri Lankan bowling has struggled, with only Rangana Herath and Tillakaratne Dilshan causing any kind of trouble for the opposition. Suranga Lakmal was, at best, steady but Nuwan Pradeep and Dhammika Prasad leaked aplenty.
The Australian lower-order could look to take on Pradeep and Prasad given that their confidence would have been dented after what transpired on the second day. It will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene rotates his bowlers in his quest to blow over the tail.
We will bring you the live score throughout the game from the SCG and hope to receive your opinions as the action unfolds.