Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis put together a much-needed century stand after India enforced the follow-on, before the visitors fought back strongly to regain control on Day 4 of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the SSC.
Earlier, resuming play on Day 4, Sri Lanka were 39 runs short of avoiding the follow-on with two wickets remaining. After completing the two deliveries left from yesterday’s final over, Sonal Dinusha was given out LBW off the second delivery of the very next over from Saransh Jain. However, he challenged Ahsan Raza’s decision and saw the ball tracking over the top of off stump, overturning the on-field decision.
In the same over, Dinusha struck a six and a four to move closer to three figures before hitting a boundary off Prasidh Krishna in the following over to register his second hundred of the series and continue his fabulous run with the bat.
>>Dinusha leads stubborn resistance as India press for follow-on
Lahiru Kumara, who had battled for more than 50 balls, lost his wicket soon after Dinusha reached his hundred, caught at cover-point after hitting Jain for a four earlier in the same over. The off-spinner finally claimed his maiden Test wicket. After the change of ends, Jain got the better of Dinusha, leaving Sri Lanka still short of the follow-on target. The hosts were eventually bowled out for 290, and India decided to enforce the follow-on.
Krishna was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors with 3 for 52, while Manav Suthar also claimed three wickets.
Still trailing by 213 runs, Sri Lanka’s second innings got off to a disappointing start as Lahiru Udara was dismissed by Mohammed Siraj in the fourth over. Kamil Mishara got another start, sharing a brisk half-century stand with Pasindu Sooriyabandara before he was trapped LBW by Ravindra Jadeja for a quick 32.
Sooriyabandara was then joined by Kamindu Mendis. The duo looked fluent in their run-scoring and kept the scoreboard moving. Sooriyabandara continued from where he left off in the first innings and brought up another fifty, while Mendis finally got some runs under his belt. With India setting a field for the short ball, the left-hander took on the challenge and cleared the fine-leg boundary to bring up his first fifty of the series. The century partnership soon followed, with Sri Lanka’s deficit also coming down to 50.
The pair looked increasingly fluent and took the attack to the Indian bowlers, particularly Suthar, who conceded 61 runs in his first 10 overs. However, Mendis once again took on Krishna’s short-ball ploy and fell into the trap, with Indian captain Shubman Gill taking a sensational catch while running back towards square leg.
Sri Lanka scored 116 runs between lunch and tea while losing just one wicket, claiming their first session of dominance in the match. The visitors had lost control for a period during the 115-run partnership, but once the stand was broken, they began to regain the upper hand.
After tea, Suthar removed Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva cheaply, with the left-arm spinner dismissing him in all four innings of the series. Sooriyabandara, who had been batting superbly, slowed down following Mendis’ dismissal. He survived an LBW decision after an inside edge, with the decision overturned on review. However, the very next ball, he charged down the wicket and was stumped after Suthar pushed the ball well outside off stump.
>>Prabath Jayasuriya sanctioned for incident during Colombo Test
Sooriyabandara, who had missed out on a hundred in the first innings, fell again—this time just eight runs short. Saransh Jain then trapped Niroshan Dickwella plumb in front, leaving Sri Lanka suddenly six down for 218 after being 209 for 3 just six overs earlier.
Once again, the surviving pair of Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha shouldered the responsibility, collectively facing 66 deliveries before rain brought an early end to play at 4:37 PM on the penultimate day. Sri Lanka lead by just 16 runs with four wickets in hand, while India are also just 7.2 overs away from taking the second new ball.
Brief Scores:
India 503/9 (138) Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115*, Rishabh Pant 63, Shubman Gill 50, Asitha Fernando 4/106
Sri Lanka 290 (89.4) Sonal Dinusha 103, Pasindu Sooriyabandara 80 Prasidh Krishna 3/52, Manav Suthar 3/85 & 229/6 f/0 (72.4) Pasindu Sooriyabandara 92, Kamindu Mendis 55, Manav Suthar 2/81, Mohammed Siraj 1/11
Stumps – Day 4, Sri Lanka lead by 16 runs.
Stumps
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | b Asitha Fernando | 45 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 84.91 |
| KL Rahul | c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara | 18 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 54.55 |
| Devdutt Padikkal | b Keshara Nuwantha | 117 | 193 | 12 | 0 | 60.62 |
| Shubman Gill | c Niroshan Dickwella b Asitha Fernando | 50 | 108 | 6 | 0 | 46.30 |
| Rishab Pant | c Lahiru Udara b Keshara Nuwantha | 63 | 89 | 6 | 2 | 70.79 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | b Asitha Fernando | 43 | 83 | 4 | 0 | 51.81 |
| Dhruv Jurel | not out | 115 | 177 | 9 | 2 | 64.97 |
| Saransh Jain | c Kamil Mishara b Asitha Fernando | 6 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Manav Suthar | c Niroshan Dickwella b Prabath Jayasuriya | 18 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 35.29 |
| Mohammed Siraj | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 3 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 10.34 |
| Prasidh krishna | not out | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Extras | 21 (b 8 , lb 3 , nb 3, w 7, pen 0) |
| Total | 503/9 (138 Overs, RR: 3.64) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 29 | 5 | 106 | 4 | 3.66 | |
| Lahiru Kumara | 20 | 4 | 68 | 1 | 3.40 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 42 | 7 | 132 | 2 | 3.14 | |
| Keshara Nuwantha | 38 | 3 | 154 | 2 | 4.05 | |
| Sonal Dinusha | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2.67 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Kamil Mishara | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 4.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Udara | c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Prasidh krishna | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Kamil Mishara | c Dhruv Jurel b Prasidh krishna | 19 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 76.00 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | lbw b Manav Suthar | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| sooriya bandara | lbw b Ravindra Jadeja | 80 | 133 | 9 | 0 | 60.15 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Ravindra Jadeja b Prasidh krishna | 32 | 58 | 3 | 1 | 55.17 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c KL Rahul b Manav Suthar | 8 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 57.14 |
| Sonal Dinusha | c KL Rahul b Saransh Jain | 103 | 162 | 8 | 3 | 63.58 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Dhruv Jurel b Mohammed Siraj | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Keshara Nuwantha | c Saransh Jain b Manav Suthar | 18 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 24.32 |
| Lahiru Kumara | c Dhruv Jurel b Saransh Jain | 12 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 20.69 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Extras | 14 (b 0 , lb 6 , nb 6, w 2, pen 0) |
| Total | 290/10 (89.4 Overs, RR: 3.23) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mohammed Siraj | 11 | 0 | 33 | 1 | 3.00 | |
| Prasidh krishna | 16 | 2 | 52 | 3 | 3.25 | |
| Manav Suthar | 22 | 1 | 85 | 3 | 3.86 | |
| Saransh Jain | 20.4 | 5 | 69 | 2 | 3.38 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 20 | 4 | 45 | 1 | 2.25 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lahiru Udara | c Saransh Jain b Mohammed Siraj | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Kamil Mishara | lbw b Ravindra Jadeja | 32 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 82.05 |
| sooriya bandara | st Rishab Pant b Manav Suthar | 92 | 173 | 10 | 1 | 53.18 |
| Kamindu Mendis | c Shubman Gill b Prasidh krishna | 55 | 92 | 1 | 2 | 59.78 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Devdutt Padikkal b Manav Suthar | 23 | 44 | 1 | 0 | 52.27 |
| Sonal Dinusha | not out | 7 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 18.92 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | lbw b Saransh Jain | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Keshara Nuwantha | not out | 3 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 10.34 |
| Extras | 8 (b 3 , lb 0 , nb 5, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 229/6 (72.4 Overs, RR: 3.15) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prasidh krishna | 10 | 1 | 31 | 1 | 3.10 | |
| Mohammed Siraj | 9 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 1.22 | |
| Manav Suthar | 18 | 2 | 81 | 2 | 4.50 | |
| Saransh Jain | 17.4 | 3 | 55 | 1 | 3.16 | |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 18 | 2 | 48 | 1 | 2.67 | |
