Sri Lanka recover to 215/5 after Dickwella-Dinusha resistance
Niroshan Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha hit unbeaten fifties to rescue Sri Lanka from 99/5 and take them to 215/5 at tea on Day 3 of the Galle Test. Their 125-run stand reduced India’s first-innings lead to 247 runs
Galle: The rampaging Indian bowlers hit a roadblock in Niroshan Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha, whose resolute batting carried Sri Lanka to 215 for five at tea on the third day of the first Test here on Monday.
Dickwella (72 batting) and Dinusha (62 batting) added 125 runs for an unbroken sixth-wicket stand as Sri Lanka recovered well from their disastrous lunchtime score of 99 for five, replying to India’s first-innings total of 462 all out.
The home side are still trailing by 247 runs.
Unlike their top-order colleagues, Dickwella and Dinusha were not in a hurry, showing a lot of judiciousness in shot selection on a pitch that was still good to bat on.
The sweep was a preferred mode of scoring for both batters against the Indian spinners, led by Manav Suthar, and they displayed good skills in dispatching the balls from the line of the stumps.
Dickwella, whose selection kicked up a lot of furore in local cricketing circles, reached his 50 off 67 balls, while his younger partner was much slower in reaching the landmark, taking 92 balls.
They milked 116 runs in the middle session without losing a wicket, displaying remarkable temperament and adequate technique.
But the same cannot be said about the other batters in the Lankan top order, who played with hard hands and drove away from the body to get caught in awkward positions.
In the first session, the Indian bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Suthar, discovered immaculate lines to tear through the Sri Lankan top order.
India resumed from overnight 460 for nine and added only a couple of runs to finish their first essay on 462.
The Lankans needed a solid start for a strong pursuit of that total.
Lead pacer Mohammed Siraj struck with his second delivery of the innings to deal an early blow to the Lankans.
Nishan Fernando, who was impressive for SLC XI in the warm-up match, could not handle Siraj’s away swing and bounce, nicking him to Devdutt Padikkal at first slip.
At 0/1, the Lankans were on the back foot immediately, and their lot never really improved in the subsequent overs.
Suthar was at the forefront of the attack, generating lovely flight, dip and turn to trouble the batters no end.
Suthar got into the act with his very first delivery, finding a faint outside edge from veteran Dinesh Chandimal, which nestled in the safe hands of Rishabh Pant.
Lahiru Udara and Kamindu Mendis, two batters averaging over 50 in Test cricket, looked solid, and the latter even clattered Prasidh Krishna for a pulled six.
Udara also appeared not to be much troubled as he pulled and cut Suthar for a couple of boundaries.
But Suthar eventually fetched the breakthrough, as Udara’s feeble swish off him went straight to Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Suthar was exceptional as he found turn consistently while bowling above 85 kmph.
Mendis would count himself a bit unlucky as an uppish push off Kuldeep Yadav stuck in the outstretched hands of a diving Shubman Gill.
Ravindra Jadeja too found himself in the wicket-takers’ list with the scalp of Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (21), who feathered the left-arm spinner to KL Rahul at slip.
