India hold advantage despite Sri Lanka fightback

India will head into Day 4 of the first Test against Sri Lanka with a 178-run lead, leaving the visitors in a strong position.

However, Sri Lanka will take confidence from their fightback on Day 3 and will be eager to produce another determined performance to keep their hopes for a positive result alive in the ICC World Test Championship series.

Sri Lanka began Day 3 brightly, claiming the final Indian wicket of Prasidh Krishna with just the fourth ball of the morning.

However, their momentum was short-lived as Mohammed Siraj struck with only the second ball of Sri Lanka’s innings. India's spinners then tightened the screws, reducing the hosts to 90/5 and putting them under significant pressure.

With Sri Lanka looking to avoid the follow-on, Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella stepped up to build a crucial partnership. The pair added 146 runs together, with Dinusha scoring his maiden Test century and Dickwella contributing a valuable 80 to help Sri Lanka reduce India's first-innings lead.

India wrapped up Sri Lanka’s innings at 284, with young spinner Manav Suthar leading the charge with a four-wicket haul. He was well supported by Ravindra Jadeja, who claimed three wickets.

Jadeja also reached a major milestone during the innings, becoming just the fifth Indian bowler to take 350 Test wickets. He further joined an elite group of all-rounders to have scored more than 4,000 Test runs and claimed at least 350 wickets.

Earlier in the Test, India won the toss and elected to bat first, posting a mammoth 462. Devdutt Padikkal led the way with a brilliant 167, while KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel provided valuable support with scores of 82 and 51 respectively.

Prabath Jayasuriya was Sri Lanka’s standout bowler, finishing with 4/109, while Keshara Nuwantha claimed three wickets and Asitha Fernando picked up two as Sri Lanka fought back to limit India’s scoring.