Steve Smith has been labelled a tactical “genius” by Australian spinner Matt Kuhnemann after the stand-in skipper helped set up the wicket of Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva on Friday.

Dinesh Chandimal's unbeaten half-century and persistent rain in Galle delayed Australia's push for victory in the opening test against Sri Lanka on Friday.Only a 27-over session was possible on day three with Sri Lanka losing two wickets and slumping to 136-5 before rain stopped play.

Australia has Sri Lanka three down after opener Usman Khawaja’s first double century and a ton on debut by Josh Inglis helped the tourists to 654-6 declared in the first match on Thursday.

Multiple bursts of torrential rain in what is historically the driest month in the southern part of the island saw play curtailed shortly before lunch, then officially abandoned at 3.30pm with Sri Lanka 5-136 in reply to Australia's daunting first innings of 6 (dec)-654.

After what was a batting collapse on Day 2 for Sri Lanka, the home side will be looking to pose a better answer in front of the Australia bowling attack featuring the likes of Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.

Travis Head will replace Sam Konstas as Usman Khawaja's opening partner in the first test against Sri Lanka at Galle on Wednesday, Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith said on the eve of the match.

The rainy weather conditions have given Australia a selection problem for the opening test against Sri Lanka starting Wednesday, although one thing seems certain: Travis Head will open the batting.

Sri Lankan cricket fans have paid a small but meaningful tribute to Shane Warne and it didn’t go unnoticed by the leg-spinning legend’s family. Warne, who famously struggled with elements like the food when he travelled to the subcontinent early in his career, eventually fell in love with the region.

Rain slows Australia's progress on day three of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle as only two wickets fall.

Steve Smith scored his 10,000th test run to put him in elite cricket company and Australia was 145-2 after winning the toss and batting Wednesday in the first test against Sri Lanka. Smith needed only one run Wednesday to achieve the milestone,

With the Sri Lanka vs Australia Test series set to kick off at Galle International Stadium, explore the pitch conditions, historical records, and the highest individual scores at this iconic venue.