Sri Lanka rally back but India keep control in Colombo

On Day 3 of the second Test match against Sri Lanka, which is part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025–27, India kept up the pressure. Sri Lanka faced a formidable assignment, especially after losing two wickets late on Day 2 and trailing by 495 runs. On Day 3, Prasidh Krishna handed India an early lead by eliminating Kamil Mishara to increase the pressure on the hosts.

Following considerable fight from Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis, who put together a vital 87-run partnership, Krishna struck again to dismiss Mendis and take his third wicket of the game.

Soon after, Manav Suthar joined the assault and dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva, the captain of Sri Lanka, reducing the hosts to 137/5. In just his second Test, Sooriyabandara scored a solid 80 off 133 balls until Suthar caught him leg before wicket. After just three balls, Siraj dismissed Niroshan Dickwella, putting Sri Lanka in serious difficulty at 173/7.

After that, Sonal Dinusha and Keshara Nuwantha stabilised the innings by progressively amassing a partnership of 57 runs from 137 balls. But when India appeared to be in control, Suthar put a stop to Nuwantha’s fight to leave Sri Lanka at 230/8.

Lahiru Kumara joined Dinusha, and the two added an undefeated 35-run partnership before Day 3 ended early due to rain. In order to avoid the follow-on, Sri Lanka will need to put up a solid batting performance on Day 4 after falling behind by 238 runs.

Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel’s hundreds helped India record a massive 503/9 earlier in the Test, giving them total control. While Yashasvi Jaiswal (45) and Ravindra Jadeja (43) made significant contributions, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant also scored half-centuries.

With outstanding numbers of 4/106, Asitha Fernando was the best bowler from Sri Lanka. In order to put further pressure on the hosts, India’s bowlers then maintained the pace, taking two late wickets on Day 2.