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Sri Lanka face up to English bowlers in 9th wicket stand

Tailenders Kumar Dharmasena and Dinusha Fernando staged a ninth-wicket stand yesterday after Sri Lanka skipper Hashan Tillekeratne lost his wicket cheaply in the second test against England.

Dharmasena (27 not out) and Fernando (39 not out) added 69 runs for their unbroken partnership as Sri Lanka reached 347 for eight at lunch on the second day.

Fernando, playing only his second test, overshadowed his seasoned partner by hitting five boundaries from 85 deliveries to thwart England's hopes of running through the tail after pacer Andrew Flintoff (2 for 60) had Tillekeratne caught by Mark Butcher at long-leg.

Tillekeratne (45) failed to add to his overnight score as he holed out trying to hook a Flintoff bouncer in the day's fourth over.

Tillekeratne's two-and-a-half hour knock contained four boundaries from 115 balls faced.

The English bowlers failed to make an impression on Dharmasena and Fernando, who remained unruffled despite England skipper Michael Vaughan frequently switching his pace and spin attack.

Fernando twice drove Flintoff to the fence, forcing Vaughan to bring on a double-spin attack.

All-rounder Dharmasena hit four boundaries off 86 deliveries in 134 minutes of compact batting.

Australia versus India

India called up leftarm spinner Murali Kartik to reinforce its spin attack in time for today's second cricket test against Australia at the spin-friendly Adelaide Oval.

Kartik, 27, arrived in Adelaide late yesterday and will be a forerunner for a place in the tourists' lineup as India looks to play two spinners on a bone-dry pitch.

He was a surprise omission from India's tour party after he troubled the Australian batsmen during the recent one-day series in India.

"We called him up as the 17th player," team manager and former test spinner Shivlal Yadav said. "He'll be available for selection for the second test.

"Murali give us a better spin option, and we identify that they [Australia] are especially vulnerable against the leftarm bowlers."

India will choose from among Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble and Kartik for two places to complement the seam attack of leftarmer Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar.

Australian captain Steve Waugh said his batsmen were comfortable playing the Indian spinners, and Harbhajan in particular.

"They [batsmen] are a bit more aggressive [against the spinners]," said Waugh. "Their game plan is much better than a couple of years ago."

Waugh promised an improved performance by his team after a below-par effort in the first test in Brisbane.

Australia will name its starting XI this morning and is expected to replace swing bowler Andy Bichel with a quicker and more aggressive Brad Williams.

Teams:

Australia (from): Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Steve Waugh (c), Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist (w), Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel or Brad Williams, Stuart MacGill and Nathan Bracken.

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (c), Akash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Venkatsai Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Parthiv Patel (w), Harbhajan Singh or Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ajit Agarkar and Murali Kartik.

Umpires: David Shepherd, England, and Rudi Koertzen, South Africa.
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