Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 25 (ANI): Sonal Dinusha's gritty unbeaten 85 kept Sri Lanka's hopes alive as rain forced an early end to the third day's play in the second Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka ended the day at 265/8, still 239 runs behind India's mammoth first-innings total of 503/9 declared. The hosts need another 39 runs to avoid the follow-on, with Dinusha and Lahiru Kumara unbeaten on 85 and eight runs respectively.
Dinusha has been the major obstacle in India's push to wrap up Sri Lanka's innings. He has added an unbeaten 35 runs with Kumara for the ninth wicket, helping the hosts survive a late onslaught from the Indian bowlers.
The second new ball was taken in the 81st over, but rain soon interrupted play and forced the covers onto the field. With conditions worsening, the umpires called off the day's play.
Dinusha's knock also saw him join an elite list. He became only the third batter after Zaheer Abbas and Everton Weekes to score 80 or more in each of his first three Test innings against India.
India had made significant inroads during the first two sessions, but Sri Lanka's lower order showed considerable resistance.
Resuming the day at 8/2, Sri Lanka lost debutant Kamil Mishara for 19 early in the morning session, with Prasidh Krishna inducing an edge that was taken by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. The hosts were reduced to 35/3.
Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis then countered the Indian attack with positive strokeplay before Sooriyabandara went on to score 80. Ravindra Jadeja dismissed him in the 45th over.
Captain Dhananjaya de Silva was the next major wicket to fall, with Manav Suthar removing him in the 35th over. Niroshan Dickwella was dismissed for a duck by Mohammed Siraj soon after, leaving Sri Lanka in further trouble.
Dinusha then took responsibility with a composed half-century, while Keshara Nuwantha provided valuable support before falling for 18 to Suthar in the 69th over.
Dinusha also became the batter with the fourth-most runs (106) while playing sweep against spin in a Test series. Dinusha has aggregated 284 runs against spin in his short Test career so far; 122 of those (42.95%) have come while playing the sweep - slog, conventional, or reverse - at a strike rate of 169.44 (11 fours, four sixes, no dismissal).
Suthar and Prasidh have taken three wickets apiece for India, while Jadeja and Siraj have claimed one each. Debutant Saransh Jain is still searching for his first wicket in Test cricket.
India will resume on Wednesday looking for the final two wickets and will need to prevent Sri Lanka from scoring 39 more runs if they are to enforce the follow-on.
Earlier, it was the visitors who opted to bat first after winning the toss, and the Shubman Gill-led side declared their innings after making 503/9.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul gave a good start for India, but Kumara got the first breakthrough of the match by getting Rahul caught behind by the wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.
Devdutt Padikkal scored his second Test century and made 117 runs before losing his wicket to Nuwantha.
Captain Shubman Gill also contributed with 50 runs. Rishabh Pant also made quick 63 runs off 89 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.
Ravindra Jadeja added 43 runs off 83 balls with the help of four boundaries before losing his wicket to Asitha Fernando.
Coming to bat at number seven, Dhruv Jurel made an unbeaten 115 with the help of nine fours and two sixes, which helped India post a 500-plus score in their first innings.
Asitha Fernando took four wickets, whereas Prabath Jayasuriya and Nuwantha grabbed a couple of wickets each. Lahiru Kumara also got a crucial wicket of KL Rahul.
The weather at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) is expected to be cloudy on Wednesday, with a high around 29°C to 30°C and a steady chance of morning or afternoon showers or thundery outbursts. There will be an early start on Day 4, with the play set to start at 9:45 AM IST. (ANI)
Sonal Dinusha defies India as rain forces early stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka 265/8
