Usman Khawaja regained his lost touch with the bat, while Steve Smith attained a significant landmark figure, one that eluded him during the recently-concluded Australian home summer.
Attacking opener Travis Head, on the other hand, towered over Sri Lankan bowlers early to set the tone in favor of the tourists for the rest of the day after interim skipper Smith won the toss and opted to bat first.
All in all, Australia seized complete control over Sri Lanka by stumps on Day 1 of the series-opening Galle Test match on Wednesday, January 29.
Australia’s firebrand opener Travis Head started off the match with three boundaries in the first over off Sri Lankan quick Asitha Fernando. The cricketer also launched off-spinner Nishan Peiris for a huge six before taking a special liking to Prabath Jayasuriya.
With Australia blazing past the 50-run mark in just 8.3 overs, Head recorded his own half-century from just 35 balls, and went on to score 57 runs in all from 40 deliveries with 10 boundaries and a six. His 92-run partnership with senior teammate Usman Khawaja was eventually curtailed by Jayasuriya in the 15th over of the day.
Usman Khawaja, on the other hand, remained defiant in his approach to overcome his recent struggles against Team India at home. Khawaja raced to a 135-ball century shortly after the lunch break to bring up his first Test hundred after a gap of nearly a year-and-a-half, and the 16th overall of his Test career. Overall, the senior opener labored 147 unbeaten runs off 210 balls with 10 boundaries and a six by early stumps.
Smith, who was left stranded at 9,999 Test runs after the Australian home summer, easily notched up the 10,000th run of his career, and only went from strength-to-strength to form his own batting resolution on a spin-heavy Galle surface.
Smith also hammered down his 35th Test century, and remained unbeaten at 104* as rains halted play at 81.1 overs. The two centurions will now resume the first Australian innings on Day 2 at a monumental 330-2.