On good days, sometimes poor deliveries can also go in your favour, and that’s what happened for India on Day 3, which was marred by rain. Some ordinary batting, coupled with persistence from the Indian bowlers, resulted in Sri Lanka losing six wickets on Day 3. Sonal Dinusha and Pasindu Sooriyabandara kept India at bay for the longest part of the day, but the visitors found ways of taking wickets to tighten their grip on the Test match. Early stumps were called as rain arrived, preventing India from bowling Sri Lanka out in their first innings.
Sri Lanka need 38 runs to avoid the follow-on.
Already two wickets down, Sri Lanka started the morning with debutant Kamil Mishara losing his wicket. The left-handed opener struck a few boundaries before nicking off to Prasidh Krishna. Sri Lanka wrestled back control of the contest with the fourth-wicket partnership between Pasindu and Kamindu Mendis. The left-right duo made merry on a good pitch against some ordinary bowling from India. Mohammed Siraj was down on pace and couldn’t make the ball talk. Saransh Jain struggled for rhythm in his first spell, as did Manav Suthar. Runs came at a good pace while Kamindu and Pasindu were batting.
As the Indian spinners looked flat and out of ideas, captain Shubman Gill recalled Prasidh, who removed Kamindu. A short-pitched delivery that could have been dispatched anywhere was played straight into the hands of the short mid-wicket fielder. Kamindu gave his wicket away as the extra bounce did the trick for Prasidh.
Post-lunch, it didn’t take too long for Manav Suthar to get rid of the opposition captain, Dhananjaya de Silva. KL Rahul took a stunning catch at first slip. Pasindu looked set for his hundred but was dismissed in unfortunate fashion as the ball rolled onto the stumps off an inside edge. The slider did the trick for Ravindra Jadeja on that occasion.
A soft dismissal was followed by another, as Niroshan Dickwella tickled one through to the wicketkeeper for Siraj’s first wicket. India looked to wrap things up early with three quick wickets in the second session. However, then came the 57-run partnership between Sonal and Keshara Nuwantha, adding to India’s frustration. Sonal was farming the strike and trying to stretch the partnership, with Keshara contributing 18.
A chip straight to mid-off resulted in Keshara’s downfall. While the wickets kept tumbling, Sonal looked rock solid at one end. He swept away the plans of the spinners and batted with control and authority against the pacers. Once again, the left-hand batter played a quality innings with minimal risks. This is his third consecutive fifty-plus score in the series. He has looked like the only batter against whom no plan has worked so far.
Batting with the tail is an art, and Sonal seems to be mastering that art with every innings, having already added 35 to the ninth-wicket partnership with Lahiru Kumara.
Prasidh and Manav were the pick of the bowlers for India, with three wickets each. Saransh bowled more maidens than the other two spinners and conceded fewer runs. The off-spinner bowled well but still couldn’t pick up a wicket.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 265/8 (Dinusha 85*, Sooriyabandara 80; Prasidh 3-47) trail India 503/9 declared by 238 runs
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