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Star Australian paceman Pat Cummins has snared 4-35 and debutant spinner Matthew Kuhnemann chipped in with two wickets in the second ODI against Sri Lanka.
Australia's horror run with injuries in Sri Lanka has had a silver lining, with debutant spinner Matthew Kuhnemann proving he will be more than a handy back-up ahead of next year's ODI World Cup in India.
Kuhnemann snared 2-48 off 10 overs in an impressive ODI debut as Sri Lanka slumped to 9-220 off 47.4 overs in Kandy on Thursday before a rain interrupted play.
The 25-year-old wasn't part of the original ODI touring party, but he was rushed into the squad after Ashton Agar (side) was injured in the series opener.
With Adam Zampa on paternity leave, the spin duties were left to Kuhnemann, Mitchell Swepson, and Glenn Maxwell in game two.
Swepson struggled at times in just his third ODI appearance, finishing with 1-58 off his 10 overs.
Maxwell was full of smiles on the way to 2-35 off 10 overs, while pace aces Pat Cummins (4-35 off 8.4 overs) and Josh Hazlewood (0-26 off seven) were at their impressive best.
But it was the performance of Kuhnemann that would have given the national selectors the biggest satisfaction given the need for spinning depth at the 2023 ODI World Cup.
The left-arm spinner was introduced in the second over and immediately obtained plenty of turn on the spin-friendly wicket.
His first victim was Pathum Nissanka (14) in the sixth over, with the opener tickling a faint edge through to wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Kuhnemann continued to frustrate Sri Lanka's batsmen during several spells, and Chamika Karunaratne (18) finally lost patience and skied the spinner into the safe hands of Cummins in the deep.
Sri Lanka also struggled to deal with allrounder Maxwell, but it was paceman Cummins who inflicted the most damage with a flurry of wickets.
Kusal Mendis (36), Dhananjaya de Silva (34), and Dasun Shanaka (34) all made starts, but couldn't go on with the job.
It was in stark contrast to game one, when Sri Lanka posted 7-300.
Paceman Jhye Richardson was dropped for game two to allow Australia to play three spinners, while Travis Head was recalled for the injured Marcus Stoinis, who has been sent home with a side strain.
Sean Abbott (finger) and Kane Richardson (hamstring) are others who have already been sent home following injuries, while Mitchell Starc (finger) and Mitch Marsh (hamstring) could be ready in time for the third ODI.
