Joe Burns and Travis Head plundered Australia's first centuries of the home summer Friday in a stirring fightback as they ruthlessly exposed Sri Lanka's inexperienced attack in the second Test at Canberra.
Australian skipper Tim Paine won the toss at the Manuka Oval and put his side in on a flat track conducive to batting, a gambit that paid off after some early wobbles.
At stumps, they were a commanding 384 for four with Burns not out 172 and Kurtis Patterson, who was dropped first ball, on 25.
Head fell for 161 after a 308-run stand with Burns -- Australia's first stand over 200 since Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh achieved the feat in the third Test against England in December 2017.
Vishwa Fernando was the best of the bowlers with 3-99.
On a cool, overcast day, Burns and Head dug Australia out of a hole after they lost Marcus Harris, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne cheaply to be in trouble at 28 for three.
After weathering the storm and as the new ball lost its shine, the pair started cashing in on a Sri Lankan attack missing their top bowlers and fieldsmen who put down a host of chances.
"We knew the first hour was going to be tough, bit of grass on the wicket, so despite losing the three wickets we just knew we had to absorb the pressure," said Burns.
"We also knew they were an inexperienced bowling attack that was going to present scoring opportunities if we got through those tough periods. Hopefully we can come out tomorrow and do much the same."
- Dire start -
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"First hour the ball moved a bit and our bowlers were hitting the right areas," said Karunaratne. "But after the first session... almost every over we gave a boundary. We have to stop that."
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