On day one of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle, the hosts were left ruing their non-referral of not just one, but two decisions against them.
The first day of the series saw Australian skipper Steve Smith call the coin toss correctly, and choose to bat first. Travis Head, opening the innings in place of teenager Sam Konstas, made full use of the hard, new, ball – smashing his way to a 35-ball half-century before becoming the first wicket to fall, for 57 off 40 balls.
Marnus Labuschagne was the next to fall, for 20 shortly before lunch. Smith then came out to the middle, and with a single off his first delivery, brought up 10,000 Test runs.
Labuschagne's wicket was as good as things got for Sri Lanka. They were ground into the dirt for the rest of the day as Smith made his way to a 35th Test century in the company of Usman Khawaja, who ended the day on 147 after a spell of rain brought a premature end to the proceedings.
Head, Khawaja survive after Sri Lanka fail to review 'not out' calls
Head stole the show in the first session, and Khawaja for the rest of the day thereafter – but things could have been very different.
Off the final ball of the fifth over of the innings, Head, on 23 at the time, was struck on the pad by seamer Asitha Fernando. There was a unanimous appeal for lbw from both the bowler and the close-in fielders, with Fernando even wheeling off in celebration before a decision had been made.
However, the umpire remained unmoved. After consultation between a few Sri Lankans, skipper Dhananjaya de Silva opted not to review the call, indicating that it had perhaps pitched outside leg stump. However, television replays showed the ball had in fact pitched in line, and would have gone on to hit the stumps.
Had Sri Lanka reviewed, they would have had their man. As it happened, Head went on to score another 34 runs off 26 balls before they dismissed him.
