India will head into Day 4 of the first Test against Sri Lanka with a 178-run lead, leaving the visitors in a strong position.
However, Sri Lanka will take confidence from their fightback on Day 3 and will be eager to produce another determined performance to keep their hopes for a positive result alive in the ICC World Test Championship series.
Sri Lanka began Day 3 brightly, claiming the final Indian wicket of Prasidh Krishna with just the fourth ball of the morning.
However, their momentum was short-lived as Mohammed Siraj struck with only the second ball of Sri Lanka’s innings. India's spinners then tightened the screws, reducing the hosts to 90/5 and putting them under significant pressure.
With Sri Lanka looking to avoid the follow-on, Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella stepped up to build a crucial partnership. The pair added 146 runs together, with Dinusha scoring his maiden Test century and Dickwella contributing a valuable 80 to help Sri Lanka reduce India's first-innings lead.
India wrapped up Sri Lanka’s innings at 284, with young spinner Manav Suthar leading the charge with a four-wicket haul. He was well supported by Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed three wickets.
Suthar, who is playing in just his second Test, learned how to bowl on this pitch by looking at the Sri Lankan bowlers, something that greatly helped the youngster.
“They bowled really well. The way they then varied their pace. I think on this pitch, the more consistent you are, the more purchase you get from the wicket. That’s what also we tried to do. We tried to bowl consistently on one spot or vary the pace accordingly to what’s best. That was our goal.” said Suthar.
Jadeja also reached a major milestone during the innings, becoming just the fifth Indian bowler to take 350 Test wickets. He further joined an elite group of all-rounders to have scored more than 4,000 Test runs and claimed at least 350 wickets.
Suthar shared how the veteran all-rounder is a master of his craft and what he is trying to learn from the record-maker.
“There are a lot of things. For example, how he can bowl consistently on one spot. His consistency is world-class. So, I want to learn that from him, that no matter what the batter is doing, but to be able to bowl consistently on one spot and try to induce a false shot. There’s a lot to learn.” said the 24-year-old.
Earlier in the Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first, posting a mammoth 462. Devdutt Padikkal led the way with a brilliant 167, while KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel provided valuable support with scores of 82 and 51 respectively.
Prabath Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s standout bowler, finishing with 4/109, while Keshara Nuwantha claimed three wickets and Asitha Fernando picked up two as Sri Lanka fought back to limit India’s scoring.
