COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The second Test match between India and Sri Lanka entered its third day on Tuesday with Sri Lanka in a precarious position, holding a score of 130 for four wickets at the first interval. The result of the match remains under threat from persistent wet weather, after just 58 overs of play were possible on Day 2 due to rain, and additional precipitation was forecast to cut further into playing time on Tuesday.
India dominated the second day of the match, posting a strong first-innings total of 503 for nine wickets before declaring their batting innings closed. The visitors’ standout performers were opener Devdutt Padikkal, who notched a century of 117 runs, and wicket-keeper batter Druv Jurel, who closed out the innings with an undefeated 115 to push India’s total deep into the 500s.
Sri Lanka’s response got off to a disastrous start, with the home side slipping to just 8 runs for the loss of two wickets by the end of Day 2. The batting collapse continued early on Day 3, when the team lost overnight batter Kamil Mishara for 19 runs with the total only at 35, leaving Sri Lanka’s innings in trouble at 3 wickets for 35 runs.
Pasindu Sooriyabandara, the young Sri Lankan batter who endured a humiliating first-ball duck as a concussion substitute in the first Test in Galle, stepped up to steady the innings alongside middle-order batter Kamindu Mendis. The pair built a steady 87-run partnership off 126 deliveries to revive Sri Lanka’s hopes and pull the team out of early trouble. Sooriyabandara, in particular, displayed impressive composure through a mix of careful defense and controlled attacking shots, reaching an unbeaten half-century off 93 deliveries, decorated with 9 boundaries.
The partnership was broken shortly before lunch by India’s fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who claimed the vital wicket when Mendis hit a loose shot straight to Ravindra Jadeja at the midwicket position. Mendis departed for 32 runs, leaving Sri Lanka 130 runs for the loss of 4 wickets at the interval. At lunch, Sooriyabandara remained unbeaten on 65, with Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva yet to score at the other end, holding an unbeaten total of 4 runs.
Prasidh Krishna has emerged as India’s leading bowler in the Sri Lankan first innings, claiming three wickets for just 35 runs. Spin bowler Manav Suthar added a further wicket for India to keep pressure on the home side.
Heading into the second Test, India already holds a 1-0 lead in the two-match series, after securing a 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening Test at Galle.