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Topic:Cricket
Steve Smith won the toss in the first Test and it proved pivotal to Australia's victory. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Australia and Sri Lanka face off in the second and final Test in Galle this afternoon, less than a week after the first Test ended at the same venue.
Reigning champions Australia have already secured the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy by winning the first match, but will be trying to win their first Test series in Sri Lanka since 2011 with victory or a draw in the second game.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of today's action.
The second Test starts at 10am, local time, in Galle, which means:
ABC Sport will be live blogging every ball from Galle at abc.net.au/sport.
The team will also be calling the action live on digital radio, the ABC listen app, and via the buttons on abc.net.au/sport. See the full schedule here.
Channel Seven will broadcast the entire series between its main channel and 7mate, and via the 7plus app. Foxtel and Kayo will not be carrying the broadcast.
Sri Lanka's fielding, particularly on day one, put the hosts in a hole they could not dig out of. (AP Photo: Eranga Jayawardena)
Australia utterly dominated the first Test last week, powered by Usman Khawaja's maiden double century in the first innings.
It was Sri Lanka's biggest Test loss and came inside four days, despite most of day three being lost to rain.
Steve Smith will captain the side again after Pat Cummins decided to stay home for the birth of his second child.
Boom youngster Sam Konstas has been released from the squad to return to Australia to play Sheffield Shield cricket after Travis Head was elevated to open the batting in Galle, crushing 57 runs off 40 balls in the opening game.
Australia: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.
Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Dimuth Karunaratne, Pathum Nissanka, Oshada Fernando, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Sonal Dinusha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nishan Peiris, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Milan Rathnayake.
Cooper Connolly could be called upon, primarily as a bowler. (Getty Images: Robert Cianflone)
Australia is set to stick with largely the same batting line-up for the second Test, with Smith saying changes to the top six are "unlikely".
From a bowling perspective, though, Smith said "all options are on the table", suggesting it was "possible" that Cooper Connolly could be named to start.
"We're going to leave it late but we've got the resources here if we need," Smith said.
Labuschagne spent time batting away from his fellow specialists at training on Tuesday, but is still likely to start.
"I can't see the top six changing. I dare say that'll be the same," Smith said.
Australia expects the wicket could turn even more than in the triumphant series opener, when left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann took the most scalps of any bowler.
While Travis Head, who took 4-10 in Galle in 2022, and Beau Webster are part-time right-arm options, Connolly is the only other left-armer in the squad and he bowled considerable overs in the nets earlier this week, despite having not taking a wicket in his first-class career, having bowled just 16 overs for WA.
"[Connolly's] another batter that bowls more than handy spin and spins the same way as Kuhnemann," Smith said.
"We've got a few that go the same way as Nathan and Todd … We're going to leave it until the last minute [to decide].
"He [Connolly] was pretty consistent when he was bowling in Dubai and in the nets here. That's kind of all you've got to do in these conditions, just try and bowl as many good balls in a good area and let the conditions take over."
Tune in for the latest cricket news, interviews and analysis from the ABC team in the Grandstand Cricket Podcast.
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Sri Lanka vs Australia second Test: How to watch? When does play start in Galle? – ABC News
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