Aus vs SL 1st Test at Pallekele

i cant see dem Sacrifical Lambs scoring more than 150-175 this innings, so chasing slightly under 100 is what I'm gonna say ;D

Yeah, I just can't see Sri Lanka getting close to 200. Their batting is so weak, even in home friendly conditions. They are so reliant upon Chandimal and Mathews. Knock them over cheaply and Australia probably won't need to bat again.

For those that didn't see it, Steve Smith's dismissal:

282 - 6

Mendis 169*

Sri Lanka lead by 196 runs with 4 wickets remaining

Rain and bad light bring a premature end to day 3 as well

This match took an unexpected turn. When Karunaratne and Silva were dismissed early in the morning, and then the key wicket of Mathews with the scores still level, I thought Australia would run through the rest of Sri Lanka's batting, and leave themselves chasing a score under 100 to win.

Instead, Mendis has played the innings of his life, and Sri Lanka have themselves a very handy lead of 196. If they can add another 60 or 70 runs for the final 4 wickets tomorrow, it would set up a challenging chase for Australia. This Test is delicately poised. Just a shame about all the rain.

I dont unnastan how MDK Perera open and out

and MDK still batting as not out ! 

If only Thisara Perera was also playing, we could have had a hat-trick of Pereras.

A few records falling in this Test:

Nathan Lyon becomes the first Aussie off-spinner to take 200 Test wickets.  Lance Gibbs (309) and Graeme Swann (255) are the only two other right-arm offspinners from non-Asian teams to take 200 or more Test wickets.

Kusal Mendis becomes the second-youngest player to score 150+ against Australia. Graeme Pollock holds the record at 19 years and 331 days.

This Test is the first instance in which openers have made six single-figure scores in the first three innings.

Mendis nicked off early in the morning after a delayed start. Instead of rolling over, Herath and Dilruwan Perera have added a quickfire 24 runs, and now lead by 228 runs. Unfortunately, as has been the case throughout this Test so far, rain is back and play has been stopped.

Given the weather, all three results are still in play. Last year, Pakistan chased down 377 here thanks to the brilliance of Younis Khan. All things considered, I'd still rather be in Australia's position, though if Sri Lanka can eek the lead up to 260, it could cause Australia a few problems.

A quick look at the numbers reveals that Australia have only one successful fourth innings overseas run chase over 200 in the last four years - when they chased down 201 in Christchurch earlier this year. Their highest fourth innings score overseas over this period is 296 in a losing effort at Trent Bridge.

OZ need another 185 runs with 7 wickets in hand

Smith and Voges in the middle .

Play has been called off  Day 4.