Colombo: Prasidh Krishna’s ability to generate pace and extra bounce helped India reduce Sri Lanka to 130 for four after a hotly contested first session on the third of the second and final Test Tuesday.
An impressive Pasindu Sooriyabandara (65) and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (4) were at crease during the lunch, and the Lankans now trail by 373 runs.
Starting from 8 for two, the home side added 122 runs in the opening passage of the day, which was also spiced up by verbal exchanges between Sarfaraz Khan, substituting for Rishabh Pant, Mohammad Siraj and the Lankan batters.
Before the Lankans gained some foothold, India began the day brightly, dismissing overnight batter Kamil Mishara (19).
Mishara failed to deal with a viciously rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna, fending it to stumper Dhruv Jurel.
But Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis (32) thwarted Indians’ hopes of making further inroads into the Lankan top order for nearly two hours.
They tackled the bowlers with little nerves, and hardly allowed two spinners – Manav Suthar and debutant Saransh Jain – to settle down.
The off-spinner Jain procured some bounce and turn but the Lankan duo handled that interrogation of their judgement rather comfortably.
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They added 87 runs for the fourth wicket and Sooriyabandara, who was playing his second Test, was the lead act of that alliance.
The elegant right-hander reached his maiden Test fifty in 76 balls.
Mendis, on the other hand, smashed Manav Suthar for a six over mid-wicket to announce his intentions.
But Prasidh, who bowled two lively spells, broke the blooming alliance with another snorter aimed at the throat of Mendis, which he pulled straight into the hands of Ravindra Jadeja at mid-wicket.
India also fetched the stalled momentum back with that wicket, and the hostile spell of Prasidh also meant that India did not miss Jadeja, who abstained from bowling in the first session.
