Ryan Harris said he made good use of a lively pitch to be among the wickets on Friday, as Australia closed in on a convincing victory in the first Test in Galle.
Harris ripped apart Sri Lanka's top order, as the hosts, who were set a target of 379 to win on a crumbling wicket, were tottering at 120 for five at the close of the third day's play at the Galle International Stadium.
"I was happy how I bowled even in the first innings, I don't think I was far from getting wickets then," said Harris, who had conceded just six runs from eight overs without taking a wicket on Thursday.
"I have not seen too many dry wickets like this and we were just trying to exploit the cracks."
Mahela Jayawardene, the former captain, provided a batting lesson for his teammates, making an unbeaten 57 with the help of eight boundaries. Angelo Mathews was the other not out batsman on 32, having put on 52 runs for the sixth wicket with his senior partner.
Australia start the fourth day's play on Saturday needing five more wickets to win and take the lead in the three-Test series, their first in Sri Lanka since 2004. Sri Lanka need to defy history to stop the tourists - the highest fourth innings score at the ground is 210 by New Zealand two years ago. "We are in a good position and it will be nice if we can finish it off early. But the two guys out there [Jayawardene and Mathews] are pretty settled."
The hosts, who were shot out for 105 in the first innings, succumbed to a three-wicket burst by Harris and probing bowling by Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson.
Harris trapped Tharanga Paranavitana leg-before with the first ball of the innings and then bowled Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lankan captain, in his fourth over to leave the hosts 15 for two.
Earlier, Australia had resumed at 115 for six after the whole of the morning session was wiped out by heavy rain and were dismissed for 210 in their second innings.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
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LIST OF INVITEES
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
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More on Quran memorisation:
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5