Sri Lanka showed considerable resistance in the second session on Day 3 of the second Test, but India continued to tighten their grip on the Test as the hosts reached 216/7 at tea, still trailing by a substantial margin, here at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
The breakthrough came soon enough. The ball deflected off Dhruv Jurel’s gloves before Rahul completed the catch at slip. Suthar dismissed de Silva for 8, getting the Sri Lankan captain to edge a delivery that gripped and turned. Sri Lanka were reduced to 137/5 and were still more than 350 runs behind.
India then made another breakthrough when Mohammed Siraj removed Niroshan Dickwella for a duck. The pacer bowled a short delivery down the leg side, and Dickwella got a faint edge while attempting to tuck it away, with Jurel completing a low catch behind the stumps. It was Siraj’s first wicket of the innings.
His dismissal ended a crucial partnership and left Sri Lanka 171/6.
