India Dominate Day 3 as Sri Lanka Stumble at 265/8, Dinusha shines for hosts

 


India strengthened their stranglehold on the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday, despite a stubborn lower-order resistance that prevented the visitors from wrapping up the hosts’ first innings. At stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka were 265/8 after 83.4 overs, still 238 runs behind India’s imposing 503/9 declared.

India’s mammoth first-innings total had been built around a superb 117 from Devdutt Padikkal and an unbeaten 115 by Dhruv Jurel. Jurel’s century was his second in Test cricket and his first overseas hundred, while Rishabh Pant contributed a brisk 63, giving India the commanding platform from which to dictate the match.

Sri Lanka began their reply disastrously, slipping to 8/2 and later 35/3, as India’s seamers struck with precision. Prasidh Krishna was the outstanding performer, claiming three crucial wickets, while Manav Suthar also picked up three wickets to keep the pressure relentlessly on the hosts.

The day’s most encouraging passage for Sri Lanka came through Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis. Sooriyabandara produced a determined maiden Test fifty and combined with Mendis for an important 87-run fourth-wicket partnership, temporarily rescuing Sri Lanka from deep trouble. Sooriyabandara eventually made 80 from 133 balls, including nine boundaries.

Mendis added a valuable 32, while Sri Lanka’s lower order then mounted an increasingly frustrating resistance. Sonal Dinusha remained unbeaten on 85 from 137 balls, striking six fours and two sixes, and was joined by Lahiru Kumara, unbeaten on 8. Their defiance ensured that India could not finish the innings on Day 3.

For India, Krishna’s incisive spell was complemented by Suthar’s three-wicket haul, while Mohammed Siraj claimed the important wicket of Niroshan Dickwella. Ravindra Jadeja also made a significant contribution, accounting for Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis.

India nevertheless remain overwhelmingly in command. With Sri Lanka 238 runs adrift with only two wickets remaining, the visitors have an excellent opportunity to enforce the follow-on if they can quickly dismiss Dinusha and Kumara. The major challenge will be to finish off a tail that has already shown considerable resilience.

The match has therefore entered a fascinating fourth-day phase: Sri Lanka need to erase a colossal deficit simply to make India bat again, while India will be determined to deliver the final blows and move closer to another emphatic Test victory. With the hosts still staring at a huge first-innings deficit, the balance of power remains firmly with Shubman Gill’s India.

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