MELBOURNE — Australia reached 150-3 at the close of the opening day of the second Test, punishing Sri Lanka after the visitors had failed to build on Kumar Sangakkara's landmark half-century and were dismissed for just 156 Wednesday. Openers Ed Cowan and David Warner charged to 95 without loss but Sri Lanka checked the hosts with three quick wickets following the drinks break in the final session at a sunbathed Melbourne Cricket Ground. The mini-revival stalled, however, with two demoralizing dropped catches late in the day that allowed Australia captain Michael Clarke (20 not out) and Shane Watson (13 not out) to survive a watchful final hour to stumps. Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first in glorious sunshine, but barring Sangakkara's elegant 58, which saw him notch his 10,000th Test run, the tourists suffered a calamitous bout of stage-fright in front of a huge Boxing Day crowd of 67,000. Only quick wickets in the morning session of day two may save Sri Lanka, with the MCG's drop-in pitch expected to flatten out in the sun and offer less for bowlers. “We're definitely in a strong position. I think the two openers started exceptionally well,” seamer Mitchell Johnson, who took his 200th Test wicket and led the team's bowling with 4-63, told reporters. “We're three down, we're 150 and we've got a great wicket, but we've just got to move on from that and we have a big day ahead of us to put on some runs.” Sri Lanka's woes were further compounded by a broken thumb to regular wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene, and it was unclear whether he would take the gloves for the rest of the match. It was all smiles for Australia, however, as its seamers reduced the tourists to 79-3 by lunch and took the last seven wickets for a paltry 77 runs. Johnson, back in the side after being overlooked for Australia's first-test victory in Hobart, unleashed a mean spell of short-pitched bowling and missed out on a hat trick straight after the drinks break in the middle session. The mercurial left-armer captured his 200th Test victim with the prized wicket of Sangakkara, but had birthday-boy Matthew Wade to thank, the 25-year-old wicketkeeper bolting 50 meters behind the wicket to take a brilliant lunging catch after the batsman sent a top edge soaring into the heavens. — Reuters Scoreboard Sri Lanka (1st Innings) D. Karunaratne c Wade b Bird 05 T. Dilshan b Johnson 11 K. Sangakkara c Wade b Johnson 58 M. Jayawardene c Wade b Siddle 03 T. Samaraweera c Warner b Bird 10 A. Mathews c Hussey b Siddle 15 P. J'wardene c Hughes b Johnson 24 D. Prasad c Wade b Johnson 00 R. Herath c Hussey b Lyon 14 S. Eranga not out 04 C. Welegedara c Hussey b Lyon 00 Extras (lb5, nb7) 12 Total (all out, 43.4 overs) 156 Falls: 1-13 (Karunaratne), 2-19 (Dilshan), 3-37 (M. Jayawardene), 4-79 (Samaraweera), 5-99 (Mathews), 6-134 (P. Jayawardene), 7-134 (Prasad), 8-147 (Sangakkara), 9-156 (Herath) 10-156 (Welegedara). Bowling: Johnson 14-2-63-4 (4nb), Bird 13-5-32-2 (2nb), Siddle 8-1-30-2 (1nb), Watson 3-2-3-0, Lyon 5.4-0-23-2. Australia (1st Innings) E. Cowan c M. J'wardene b Prasad 36 D. Warner c Prasad b Mathews 62 P. Hughes run out (Dilshan) 10 S. Watson not out 13 M. Clarke not out 20 Extras (b2, w5, nb2) 09 Total (3 wkts; 39 overs) 150 Falls: 1-95 (Warner), 2- 117 (Hughes), 3-117 (Cowan). Bowling: Welegedara 11-4-36-0, Eranga 10-2-53-0 (2nb, 1w), Prasad 8-1-39-1, Mathews 4-2-9-1, Herath 6-1-11-0. To bat: M. Hussey, M. Wade, M. Johnson, P. Siddle, N. Lyon, J. Bird.
