Kusal Mendis carried his bat and Sri Lanka's bowlers all impressed in an emphatic nine-wicket victory over Ireland in the T20 World Cup on Sunday.

Opening batsman Mendis made an unbeaten 68 at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart as Sri Lanka easily chased down a target of 129 despite the absence of the injured Pathum Nissanka.

Dhananjaya de Silva (31 off 25) and Charith Asalanka (31* off 22) also did their bit to open Sri Lanka's Group 1 campaign with a resounding win.

It had been Sri Lanka's bowlers who laid the foundations for Mendis. Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-25) claimed a pair apiece, while each of their bowling unit took a wicket to limit Ireland to 128-8.

Paul Stirling opened with 34 off 25 and Harry Tector (45) ensured Ireland at least had something to defend, but the contest was decidedly one-sided.

COOL KUSAL LEADS THE WAY

Sri Lanka's route to this stage started with an embarrassing loss to Namibia but wins over the United Arab Emirates and Netherlands booked a spot in the Super 12.

Kusal ensured there would be no hiccup to begin this stage, whacking three sixes and five fours in his 43-ball knock, which he finished with a maximum off Simi Singh over deep-square leg, as Sri Lanka wrapped up the win with 30 balls remaining and nine wickets in hand.

BOWLING UNIT IN SYNC

One of the most pleasing aspects for Sri Lanka was the shared responsibility with the ball. Lahiru Kumara had already snared Ireland captain Andrew Balbirnie in the second over by the time Theekshana encouraged Lorcan Tucker to glove onto the stumps.

Theekshana also took the bails off George Dockrell's wicket and Binura Fernando took out dangerman Tector prior to Hasaranga taking a couple of late wickets.

Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 16 runs to reach the T20 World Cup Super 12 stage and the Dutch also qualified after the United Arab Emirates broke Namibia's hearts.

Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka suffered a shock defeat to Namibia in their first game of the tournament, but avoided an early exit by responding with victories over the UAE and Netherlands.

A brilliant knock of 79 from 44 balls by man of the match Kusal Mendis enabled Sri Lanka to post 162-6 at Kardinia Park on Thursday, Charith Asalanka also chipping in with 31.

The Netherlands fell short on 146-9 in reply, spinners Wanindu Hasaranga (3-28) and Maheesh Theekshana (2-32) stepping up when Sri Lanka needed them, with opener Max O'Dowd's unbeaten 71 in vain.

That left the Dutch's fate out of their hands, but UAE came to their rescue by dramatically securing their first T20 World Cup win to knock Namibia out in Geelong.

Muhammad Waseem top scored with 50 and captain Chundangapoyil Rizwan made 43 not out in UAE's 148-3. A victory would have seen Namibia advance with Sri Lanka, but they were beaten by seven runs after being restricted to 141-8.

David Wiese's half-century in a stand of 70 with Ruben Trumpelmann looked to have put Namibia on course to qualify, but he was out 55 in an excellent final over from Waseem

Group A winners Sri Lanka face the runners-up in Group B in their Super 12 opener at Bellerive Oval on Sunday, while the Netherlands face Bangladesh at the same venue in Hobart a day later.

Karthik Meiyappan's historic hat-trick was in vain as Sri Lanka thrashed the United Arab Emirates by 79 runs after Netherlands moved to the brink of the T20 World Cup Super 12s.

Sri Lanka suffered a shock defeat to Namibia in the first game of the tournament on Sunday, but responded with an emphatic win over UAE at Kardinia Park.

Pathum Nissanka top scored with 74 from 60 balls as the Asia Cup champions posted 152-8, Meiyappan (3-19) becoming the first UAE player to take a T20I hat-trick.

Sri Lanka had been 117-2 in the 15th over, but a late collapse did not prove to be costly as UAE were skittled out for only 73 in 17.1 overs.

Wanindu Hasaranga claimed brilliant figures of 3-8 from four overs, while Dushmantha Chameera (3-15) and Maheesh Theekshana (2-15) also sparkled under the lights to leave Sri Lanka in third place in Group A, level on points with Namibia with an inferior net run-rate.

The Netherlands are two points clear at the top of the group after bringing Namibia back down to earth with a five-wicket victory.

Namibia posted 121-6 and the Dutch got home with three balls to spare, Bas de Leede named man of the match after making an unbeaten 30 and taking two wickets.

Jan Frylinck starred with bat and ball as Namibia stunned Sri Lanka with a 55-run victory in the first game of the T20 World Cup.

Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup champions last month, but they were brought back down to earth in the Group A opener at Kardinia Park on Sunday.

Frylinck top scored with 44 off 28 balls as Namibia recovered from 35-3 to post 163-7 in Geelong, JJ Smit also making a quickfire unbeaten 31 down the order.

Sri Lanka were all out for only 108 in reply after they were reduced to 21-3 inside four overs, captain Dusan Shanaka (29) one of only four players to make double figures.

All-rounder Frylinck claimed 2-26, with David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz and Ben Shikongo also took two wickets apiece in an excellent display in the field from Namibia in their quest to reach the Super 12 stage for the second successive World Cup.

Sri Lanka had been forced to make a last-minute change to their squad, replacing the injured Dilshan Madushanka (quad) with fellow paceman Binura Fernando.

Hosts Australia head into the T20 World Cup as defending champions, but no team has ever won back-to-back editions of this tournament.

The showpiece for international cricket's shortest format has provided some spectacular moments since South Africa staged the first edition 15 years ago.

West Indies are the only team to have carried off the trophy twice, and their long-time ring master Chris Gayle is absent this time, having not featured since the Caribbean side bowed out of the T20 World Cup last year.

With Gayle all but retired from internationals, and with others shuffling away, new stars will emerge over the coming weeks, and some established figures will be chasing records.

Here, Stats Perform looks at the T20 World Cup's top performers, and the spectacular feats from tournaments gone by that the class of 2022 will have in their sights.

Batters bid to go big in post-Gayle era

Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene is the only batter to have topped 1,000 runs in the history of the T20 World Cup, reaching 1,016 from 31 innings, spanning 2007 to 2014. He went out on a sensational high, passing the 1,000-run barrier in the final as Sri Lanka won the 2014 title by beating India in Mirpur.

Windies great Gayle sits second on that list with 965 runs, and is the only batter to have made two centuries in T20 World Cups. Those were also the fastest two tons in T20 World Cup history (47 balls v England in 2016, 50 balls v South Africa in 2007).

There are a number of batters who could join Jayawardene in reaching 1,000 runs at the T20 World Cup, but principal among them are the India pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

Rohit replaced Kohli as skipper at the end of last year, following India's failure to get past the Super 12 stage at the World Cup, and there could be a friendly rivalry emerging in the race for four figures.

Rohit enters the tournament for top-ranked India on 847 runs in past editions, while Kohli has 845. Strikingly, Rohit's runs have come from 30 innings at an average of 38.50, whereas Kohli has plundered his in just 19 innings, and the latter's average of 76.81 is by far and away the best among all batters with 500-plus runs in the competition.

It helps, of course, that Kohli has finished unbeaten in eight of those knocks. The next highest average among such players is former England batter Kevin Pietersen's 44.61 (580 runs from 15 innings, two unbeaten).

The highest score by any batter in a single innings at the T20 World Cup remains the 123 that Brendon McCullum, now England's Test head coach, plundered for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Pallekele at the 2012 tournament. That was McCullum's highest score across his entire T20I career.

David Warner is another who could make it to 1,000 runs, but the Australia opener will need a big tournament to make that happen. He goes in on 762 runs from 30 prior innings, Cricinfo statistics show.

Only one batter has reached 500 T20 World Cup runs without making a fifty, and that was former India captain MS Dhoni, who skippered the team to the 2007 title. His best score in 29 innings, from which he accumulated 529 runs, was a modest 45.

Pakistan's Babar Azam dazzled at the 2021 T20 World Cup, scoring a tournament-high 303 runs in six innings.

His four half-centuries matched the most by any player in an edition of the tournament, the ICC said, having been previously achieved in 2014 by Kohli and in 2007 by Matthew Hayden.

Shakib, Mendis and Campher set standards for bowling elite

Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is something of a T20 World Cup superstar. As well as ranking eighth on the run-scoring list (698 from 31 innings), the all-rounder has taken more wickets than anyone, with 41 at an average of 17.29.

A haul of 11 at the 2021 tournament took him top of the list, and there is nobody threatening to get particularly close to the 35-year-old spinner.

Among players selected for this tournament, the player with the next highest wicket haul is India's Ravichandran Ashwin, with 26 from 18 matches.

When it comes to T20 cricket, unsurprisingly there have been precious few five-wicket hauls, given the bowlers each have just a four-over allocation.

Sri Lanka's Ajantha Mendis is the only bowler to have snagged six in an innings, taking princely figures of 6-8 against Zimbabwe in 2012, while eight others have taken five wickets in a match, headed by Rangana Herath's remarkable 5-3 against New Zealand at the 2014 tournament, when the Black Caps were skittled for 60.

That ranks as the fourth-lowest team score in a T20 World Cup, with Netherlands responsible for the two worst totals, both times folding against Sri Lanka when making 39 at Chattogram in 2014 and 44 in Sharjah last year.

The other side to post a sub-60 score were West Indies, routed for 55 by England in Dubai 12 months ago.

A hat-trick represents the holy grail for all bowlers, and there have been just four in T20 World Cups, with Brett Lee taking the first for Australia against Bangladesh at the inaugural 2007 tournament.

There were no more until the 2021 tournament, which incredibly featured three: Curtis Campher took four wickets in four balls for Ireland against Netherlands, before Wanindu Hasaranga (for Sri Lanka against South Africa) and Kagiso Rabada (for South Africa against England) both managed three in three.

It has been a long time coming but the T20 World Cup will finally get under way in Australia on Sunday.

Two years later than scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tournament will start with Sri Lanka taking on Namibia at Kardinia Park followed by the United Arab Emirates versus the Netherlands at the same venue on Sunday.

There will be six days of qualifying matches to decide which four teams will go through to the Super 12, which starts with a repeat of last year's final between holders Australia and New Zealand on October 22.

You could make a case for several teams being strong contenders to lift the trophy at the MCG on November 13.

Stats Perform picks out some of the storylines to look out for in a tournament that will be well worth the wait.

Windies and Sri Lanka should avoid shock early exit

The only team to have won the T20 World Cup twice is West Indies, but they failed to secure direct qualification for the Super 12 on this occasion.

They lost four out of five matches as defending champions in the United Arab Emirates last year, a crushing six-wicket defeat to England setting the tone as they were skittled out for a pitiful 55.

Nicholas Pooran's side will face Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart and will be expected to advance from Group B.

Sri Lanka were crowned Asia Cup champions last month and ought to have no trouble in advancing from a Group A that also includes the Netherlands, the UAE and Namibia.

On a high from lifting the trophy in Dubai, Dasun Shanaka's men could be dangerous if they made it through to the Super 12 as expected.

Hosts in quest to make history

Australia ended their wait for a first T20 World Cup title in Dubai last year at the expense of the Black Caps, Mitchell Marsh blasting an unbeaten 77 in the final to seal an eight-wicket win.

No team has won back-to-back T20 World Cup titles, so the hosts have an opportunity to make history on home soil.

Tim David has emerged as another potential match-winner that has bolted his way into the squad and he is capable of making a big impact, while big things will be expected from the likes of David Warner with the bat.

Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are a formidable pace trio and leg-spinner Adam Zampa brings an X-Factor. Australia have a great chance of achieving a feat no other side has accomplished.

Can India make amends?

India were strongly fancied to win the rearranged T20 World Cup last year, but their challenge was all-but over soon after it had started.

They were consigned to a 10-wicket thrashing by fierce rivals in Pakistan in their first match and still looked shellshocked when New Zealand hammered them by eight wickets.

Virat Kohli stepped down as captain after that failure, with Rohit Sharma the skipper of what is another star-studded squad.

The loss of paceman Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to injury were huge blows, but India will be expected to mount a strong challenge as the top-ranked side in the world and batter Suryakumar Yadav can make a big impact.

Buttler to deliver in first tournament as skipper?

England looked unstoppable in the World Cup last year until they were knocked out by New Zealand at the semi-final stage.

Jos Buttler has since taken over as captain after Eoin Morgan retired from international cricket, and Matthew Mott was appointed as head coach.

Buttler has recovered from injury for what will be his first tournament as skipper and will look to produce the sort of form he did in the 2021 World Cup, in which he averaged a staggering 89.66.

England have huge firepower with the bat, while Reece Topley, Mark Wood and Adil Rashid are among the bowlers Buttler will be counting on to step up as they strive to lift the trophy for a second time.

Proteas a force to be reckoned with

South Africa have never been beyond the semi-final of a T20 World Cup, but there is every chance this could be their year.

Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje are a hostile trio of pace bowlers and they also have the wizardry of spinner Tabraiz Shamsi.

The absence of Rassie van der Dussen is a big loss, but the Proteas are not short of explosive batting with the likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Rillee Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs to call upon.

A fine batting effort from Bhanuka Rajapaksa and crucial contributions with bat and ball from Wanindu Hasaranga saw Sri Lanka win the Asia Cup as they beat Pakistan by 23 runs in Sunday's final in Dubai.

Sri Lanka had beaten Pakistan by five wickets in the Super Four on Friday to top the table, but nerves might have been jangling after Pakistan won the toss ahead of the title decider.

Prior to this meeting between two first-time 20-over finalists, 17 of the previous 20 T20I winners in Dubai had been the sides batting second.

And things did not start well for Sri Lanka either, with Kusal Mendis out to his first ball in one of five wickets inside nine overs.

However, after Dhananjaya de Silva had set the table with 28 from 21 balls, Rajapaksa led the recovery with the bat as he hit 71 from 45.

Hasaranga also ably supported with 36 from 21 as Sri Lanka posted a target of 171 that would prove beyond Pakistan.

Sri Lanka's start with the ball was similarly sloppy, with Dilshan Madushanka conceding nine runs before he had bowled a legal ball, but Pramod Madushan turned the tide by taking the wickets of Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman from consecutive balls.

Pakistan, having scored just 37 runs in the powerplay, improved courtesy of a partnership of 71 between Mohammad Rizwan (55) and Iftikhar Ahmed (32) before Madushan (4-34) struck again.

Then it was Hasaranga's turn in a dominant 17th over that had three wickets – including Rizwan's – to set up a straightforward finish that saw Pakistan all out for 147.

India's Asia Cup defence is in ruins after a thrilling six-wicket loss to Sri Lanka on Tuesday left the reigning champions needing a miracle to reach the final.

Defeat to Pakistan last time out left India essentially requiring a victory here, and they fell short as Sri Lanka ultimately held their nerve.

While Rohit Sharma top-scored with 72, India rarely looked in control, with Suryakumar Yadav (34) the only other to go over 17 runs.

With the impressive Dilshan Madushanka (3-24) helping to reduce India to 173-8, Sri Lanka will have been confident going into bat and an opening stand of 97 from Pathum Nissanka (52) and Kusal Mendis (57) had victory looking almost certain.

But Yuzvendra Chahal (3-34) sowed the seed of doubt as he took both openers and Charith Asalanka (0), while Ravichandran Ashwin (1-32) claimed the scalp of Danushka Gunathilaka (1).

Sri Lanka's momentum had dissipated, but Dasun Shanaka (33 not out) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (25 not out) got them back on track, their two boundaries in each of the 18th and 19th overs proving crucial as they reached 174-4 with a single ball remaining.

Shanaka turns up the heat

Sri Lanka's chase appeared to be petering out – there was a moment when they required a rate of more than 12 runs per over but were averaging just over eight.

Shanaka's haul of 33 may have been outscored by four other players on the day, but his knock came from just 18 balls at a strike rate of 183.3, the highest of anyone to record more than 15 runs, and it was crucial to Sri Lanka claiming victory.

Deadly Dilshan

This was a tremendous bowling display by the 21-year-old, with his dismissal of Virat Kohli for a duck particularly satisfying.

From his four overs with the ball, India hit just one boundary – every other Sri Lankan bowler had at least two against them.

There will be an increase in the number of men's international cricket for the 12 full ICC members in the next Future Tours Program (FTP) cycle.

Australia and India will play two five-match series in the 2023-2027 FTP cycle, with the last time they have contested that many matches in a series being back in 1992.

There will be 777 internationals during the next cycle - 173 Tests, 281 ODIs and 323 T20Is - compared to 694 in the current one.

England, Australia and India will play the greatest number of Tests, featuring in 22, 21 and 20 respectively.

The next cycle will include five major ICC events, starting with the Cricket World Cup in India next year.

ICC general manager of cricket Wasim Khan said: "I'd like to thank our members for the effort that has gone into creating this FTP for the next four years.

"We are incredibly lucky to have three vibrant formats of the game, with an outstanding programme of ICC global events and strong bilateral and domestic cricket and this FTP is designed to allow all cricket to flourish."

Pakistan made history as they completed an impressive victory over Sri Lanka in Galle, hunting down a venue record total of 342 to notch a four-wicket win.

The tourists went into the final day needing a further 120 runs with seven wickets remaining to claim one of their highest-ever pursuits in Test cricket.

Steered by Abdullah Shafique's unbeaten 160, the tourists managed to knock off the remaining tally with relative ease, posting an eventual score of 344-6.

The chase did not quite match Pakistan's best of 377 - also against Sri Lanka in Pallakele in 2015 - but exceeded the record pursuit in Galle, set by the hosts against New Zealand in 2019 when they notched 268.

The result also marks a major shift for both in the World Test Championship rankings, moving Pakistan up to third and giving them a shot of making next year's final.

They now only trail South Africa and Australia, while defeat drops Sri Lanka from third to sixth, moving India up to fourth and the West Indies into fifth.

The hosts will have a chance to strike back on Sunday when the second Test starts in Galle once more.

An unbeaten double century from Dinesh Chandimal and a six-wicket haul for Prabath Jayasuriya guided Sri Lanka to an emphatic win over Australia to level the two-Test series.

Sri Lanka completed their win by an innings and 39 runs on day four.

Chandimal had earlier watched on as Kamindu Mendis (61) was bowled by Mitchell Swepson without adding to his overnight score, with Niroshan Dickwella (5) following to Nathan Lyon (2-194).

But Ramesh Mendis (29) provided ample support to Chandimal by surviving for 98 balls, as the latter brought up his double hundred with consecutive sixes against Mitchell Starc.

Chandimal was the last man standing on 206 – the highest score by a Sri Lankan against Australia in men's Tests – as Starc (4-89) and Swepson (3-103) cleaned up the tail with the hosts 190 runs ahead.

Sri Lanka continued in the ascendancy as Ramesh Mendis removed David Warner for 24, with the score on 49-1, after Dickwella earlier missed a stumping chance to remove Usman Khawaja when on just two.

Khawaja did not capitalise on that chance, falling for 29 to Jayasuriya (6-59), who removed Steve Smith without scoring four balls later, before Travis Head (5) failed in his defence against Ramesh Mendis (2-47).

Marnus Labuschagne (32) and Cameron Green (23) offered brief resistance but both were dismissed by Jayasuriya, who completed his second five-for of the Test when Starc departed for a two-ball duck.

Maheesh Theekshana (2-48) then trapped Pat Cummins (16) and Lyon (5) in front, before Jayasuriya dismissed Swepson (0) for his 12th wicket of the match to bowl the tourists out for 151 and seal Sri Lanka's first Test victory over Australia since 2016.

Dreamy Dinesh joined by Jayasuriya

Chandimal posted his maiden Test double century as he surpassed his previous high score of 164 against India in 2017 to press home Sri Lanka's advantage and help his side to a memorable win.

Kumar Sangakkara previously held the highest Sri Lanka Test score against Australia (192 in November 2007), but Chandimal eased past that benchmark with a remarkable 16 fours and five sixes in 326 balls.

Where's your Head at?

Head has struggled in the series against Sri Lanka, posting double figures in just one of three innings – though a high score of 12 leaves a lot to be desired.

More concerningly, Head has been bowled on two of his three dismissals, leading to questions over his defensive technique on spin-friendly, challenging pitches in the subcontinent.

Dinesh Chandimal put Sri Lanka in control of the second Test against Australia with an unbeaten century on day three.

The hosts, playing in Galle amid the backdrop of political unrest in the country, picked up where they left off at the end of day two as they continued to excel with the bat to reach 431-6 at stumps in response to Australia's 364 all out.

Sri Lanka resumed on 184-2, but Kusal Mendis – one of the stars of the second day – added just one to his overnight total as he went for 85.

However, Sri Lanka found stability in the form of ex-captain Angelo Mathews (52) and Chandimal (118 not out), who combined for an 83-run fourth-wicket partnership.

Australia paid the price for wasting their reviews on unsuccessful leg before appeals against both Mathews and Chandimal, leaving them with none to use when Nathan Lyon trapped Mathews with a delivery that DRS showed would have hit the stumps and when ultra edge showed Chandimal had edged Mitchell Starc behind on 30.

Marnus Labuschagne's catch at short leg did eventually end Mathews' innings, but Australia found no way through the defences of Chandimal, who brought up his hundred with a quick single off Lyon.

Chandimal found yet more support from Kamindu Mendis, who struck 61 on debut, and will look to work with the tail to make Australia toil further after guiding Sri Lanka to a lead of 67 runs at the close.

Lucky 13 for Chandimal

Chandimal's century was his 13th in Test cricket and his second of the year following his 124 in Bangladesh in May. He will now look to go beyond his high score of 164 against India in 2017 and press home Sri Lanka's advantage.

Sri Lanka's show of strength

Encapsulating Australia's struggles to make inroads, this innings marked the first time five Sri Lanka batters have scored 50 or more against them. Additionally, this is only the fifth time five of Sri Lanka's top six have scored half-centuries.

Sri Lanka provided a fine response to keep themselves in the conversation on day two of their second Test against Australia, whom they trail by 180 runs after reaching 184-2 at stumps.

The tourists added 66 runs to their day-one total at the start of the action on Saturday before Sri Lanka began what looked to be a fairly daunting reply to 364.

Set against the backdrop of mass anti-government protests amid an economic crisis in the country, with demonstrations reaching the stadium in Galle, anyone would have forgiven Sri Lanka for being distracted.

But they were locked-in throughout on what was an impressive day for them all round on the pitch.

Steve Smith picked up where he left off on day one to ultimately finish on 145 not out, but after Alex Carey (28) was dismissed, Australian batsmen dropped like flies as they put on just 35 runs for their last four wickets partly thanks to Prabath Jayasuriya's (6-118) tremendous six-for on debut.

Sri Lanka's innings started poorly, with Pathum Nissanka sent packing for six by Mitchell Starc (1-28) in the ninth over to leave them 12-1.

Dimuth Karunaratne (86) was then almost run out on 18 and also had a lucky escape just before tea when nearly finding the clutches of Mitchell Swepson (1-31).

But there were otherwise few scares for Sri Lanka as Australia's attack faded in the face of Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis (84 not out).

That was until Swepson's return, as he slammed a delivery into Karunaratne's pads to snare him leg before.

Mendis continued to elude Australia, however, providing a steadying a presence as Sri Lanka reached the close in good shape.

Jayasuriya has a day to remember

On his Test debut, Jayasuriya produced a memorable showing with the ball. His performance undoubtedly proved key in preventing Australia reaching 400.

His figures are the second best by a Sri Lankan bowler on a Test debut, with only Praveen Jayawickrama (6-92) against Bangladesh in 2021 doing better.

Mendis, Karunaratne frustrate Australia

Mendis and Karunaratne may not have put on runs at a devastating rate, but that is not always what is required in Test cricket. They were playing the long game and it worked.

Australia's attack did not provide Sri Lanka with the opportunities to quickly build a big total, but their second-wicket stand kept the hosts on track and they head into day three in a good position thanks to the pair.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne brought up centuries – the former ending a 16-month Test drought – as Australia made a terrific start to the second Test in Sri Lanka on Friday.

Smith (109 not out) reached his first Test hundred since scoring 131 against India in January 2021 shortly before stumps on day one, after Labuschagne (104) had driven Australia into a strong position against the COVID-19-impacted hosts.

Three late wickets from debutant Prabath Jayasuriya (3-90) only partially stemmed the tourists' momentum, with Sri Lanka – who have lost three players to COVID-19 since a crushing first Test defeat - toiling as Australia reached 298-5.

Looking to win four successive Tests against Sri Lanka for the first time since 2004, Australia were led to a solid start by the in-form Usman Khawaja.

Having averaged 117 in 2022 ahead of this contest, Khawaja helped the tourists recover from the early loss of David Warner (5) before being felled by a beauty from Ramesh Mendis shortly before lunch for 37..

Labuschagne took centre stage thereafter, going from strength to strength after Niroshan Dickwella missed the chance to stump him for 28 as he racked up his first away Test hundred.

The 28-year-old's innings represented his seventh Test ton and saw him dovetail brilliantly with Smith – the duo recording their seventh century partnership in just 21 innings - before Dickwella took his second opportunity to stump Labuschagne in the 59th over, after Australia had reached 204-2.

Sri Lanka stepped things up after tea as Jayasuriya added the wickets of Travis Head (12) and Cameron Green (4), but Smith evaded the attack before bringing up his ton with a fine four and will be back at the crease on Saturday.

Labuschagne and Smith drive Aussies forward

Only Joe Root (14) has more Test centuries than Labuschagne since his October 2018 debut after his terrific knock silenced the home crowd.

But if that was good, Australia saved the best until last with Smith's long awaited hundred.

His 28th Test ton was his first in 16 innings and just his second in the red-ball game since the 2019 Ashes, and the former skipper will be hopeful of adding to his tally and taking the tourists beyond 400 after surviving the hosts' late rally.

Out-of-sorts Sri Lanka struggle again 

With bowlers Asitha Fernando and Jeffrey Vandersay among those sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, Sri Lanka struggled to make headway on a difficult first day.

Having lost three of their five Tests in 2022, Sri Lanka look hard-pushed to stop the tourists after Labuschagne and Smith's day-one heroics. 

Australia look poised to hand Glenn Maxwell a shock return to Test cricket, with the all-rounder in contention to provide additional spin against Sri Lanka in Galle.

The 33-year-old has not played the long-form game for his country since he featured in the 2017 tour of Bangladesh, instead carving out his place in the white-ball sides.

That has included success in both ODI and T20 formats, with Maxwell a member of the Australia squad that won the T20 World Cup last November, two years on from a semi-final finish at the Cricket World Cup.

But after spin accounted for the majority of wickets in the first Test last week, captain Pat Cummins has indicated the tourists may switch to selecting a single frontline fast bowler for the second and final match.

That would likely see Mitchell Starc drop out, given Cameron Green could be utilised as a pace option, and would open the door for Maxwell, who has seven Test caps, to make a remarkable return to the side.

"He'd play as a spinning all-rounder at number eight," Cummins said. "I thought he was just about the pick of the bowlers in the one-day series, he was excellent. You can easily get 15 or 20 overs out of him.

"If the wicket plays lots of tricks, the batting will be the area where you have to find those 20 or 30 runs somewhere. Last week we didn't need two quicks, but Mitchell Starc's class so we'll wait and see."

Maxwell was a late call-up to cover for the injured Travis Head following Australia's white-ball series against Sri Lanka, and looked otherwise set to miss out following the latter's recovery.

The lack of senior red-ball cricket will not be an issue for Cummins though, who feels that if selected, Maxwell could bring great value towards the tail of the middle order.

"It's pretty different first-class cricket here to what you might experience in the Sheffield Shield," Cummins said. "It's a different pace, the wickets are so different.

"It might not be grinding out a hundred, but a quickfire 30 or 40 would be just as valuable."

The second Test starts on Friday. Australia won the first match by 10 wickets.