Sri Lanka 291 and 85 for 2 (Karunaratne 44*, Mendis 24*) need another 465 to beat India 600 and 240 for 3 dec (Kohli 103*, Abhinav 81)
Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav struck an early blow each after India declared early on the fourth morning to set Sri Lanka the task of surviving the best part of two full days or chasing an improbable 550. Sri Lanka ended an extended first session – which began 15 minutes early to make up for overs lost to rain on day three – on a positive note, with Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis adding an unbroken 56 to show their team that batting hadn’t yet become unduly difficult on a firmer-than-usual Galle surface.
Their job, though, has barely even begun. Sri Lanka, at lunch, had faced 23 overs – they have at least 66 more to negotiate today, and an entire day’s play after that, weather permitting.
Shami struck the first blow, going around the wicket, hitting the seam, and getting the ball to bounce disconcertingly at Upul Tharanga. First, the ball seamed away just a touch after angling in, and Tharanga, poking away from his body, edged to second slip, where Virat Kohli shelled a sitter. No worries for Shami. One ball later, he produced another peach, this one coming back in, lifting, and cramping the left-hander for room. All he could do was chop the ball on to his stumps.
Then, in the sixth over of Sri Lanka’s innings, Danushka Gunathilaka fell to a loose shot for the second time on Test debut. Umesh had Cheteshwar Pujara stationed at square leg, just in front of square. It was either a routine field placement or India had sussed out a tendency to flick in the air. In either case, he failed to keep that shot down against a full ball that swung into his pads, and Pujara took a simple, low catch.
Karunaratne and Mendis weren’t especially tight with their defence during their third-wicket stand, every now and then playing and missing when they could have left alone. One loose drive from Mendis, off Umesh, resulted in an edge that didn’t quite carry to second slip. That apart, though, both batsmen looked comfortable in the middle, Karunaratne strong off his pads and Mendis fluent while driving and cutting.
India declared 6.3 overs into the morning, having clattered 51 in that time, with Virat Kohli, who resumed on 76, bringing up his 17th Test hundred and 10th as captain. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane hit only two fours and a six in that time, but scored off all but seven balls they faced, against Sri Lanka’s deep-set fields.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo