Colombo. On the third day of the second Test against India, Sri Lanka batted better in the first session and managed its position to some extent. By lunch, the host team had scored 130 runs for four wickets. Sri Lanka added 122 runs in the morning session. India declared its first innings at 503 runs for nine wickets.
Sri Lanka started the day with eight runs for two wickets. Debutant Kamil Mishara was out after scoring 19 runs. Prasidh Krishna got him caught by Dhruv Jurel. This was Krishna’s second wicket in the innings and Sri Lanka’s score became 35 runs for three wickets.
Mishara hit some brilliant fours against Krishna early in the day, but the Indian fast bowler took advantage of the extra bounce to send him back to the pavilion.
After this, Pasindu Suriyabandar and Kamindu Mendis faced the Indian bowlers bravely. Both of them batted positively and took charge of Sri Lanka’s innings and made a partnership of 87 runs for the fourth wicket. After the partnership increased, Indian captain Shubman Gill put his fast bowlers on the attack again.
Debutant Saransh Jain was made the first spinner on the third day, but he did not succeed in making an impact. Manav Suthar also found it difficult to stop the Sri Lankan batsmen. Prasidh Krishna, who returned after a long six-over opening spell, gave India a crucial breakthrough by dismissing Kamindu Mendis.
At the other end, Pasindu Suriyabandar continued his brilliant batting and completed the first Test half-century of his career. This is only his second time in Test cricket. His innings has given Sri Lanka a chance to recover from the initial setbacks. However, despite Sri Lanka’s better batting, India’s position remains strong. In response to India’s first innings score of 503 runs, Sri Lanka is still 373 runs behind.