India moved within six wickets of victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka after a gripping fourth day in which they established a record chase for the hosts before their bowlers ripped through the top order.
Starting the day with a 178-run lead, India extended their advantage to 371 before being bowled out in their second innings. Rishabh Pant provided the decisive acceleration with an entertaining 66 off 69 balls, while Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando claimed 4/31, the best figures by a Sri Lankan fast bowler at home since Suranga Lakmal’s 4/29 in 2019.
India’s innings did not progress smoothly. Sri Lanka’s bowlers maintained pressure during several periods, particularly around lunch, as India lost wickets in clusters. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed while attempting a cut, continuing his vulnerability to that shot against pace.
KL Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal then added a brisk 65-run partnership. The Karnataka teammates entertained the crowd with attractive strokeplay, with Rahul even celebrating Padikkal’s successful review after an lbw decision was overturned.
Sri Lanka responded strongly after lunch, dismissing Rahul, Padikkal, Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel in relatively quick succession. With the pitch increasingly offering uneven bounce and turn, India needed another counter-attacking effort to keep the scoring rate up. Pant supplied exactly that.
The wicketkeeper-batter repeatedly found unconventional ways to score, advancing down the pitch and flat-batting short deliveries while also producing powerful pulls behind square. His fifty came with one such pull and also took him to 100 Test sixes, making him only the third batter to reach the landmark.
India continued batting even after Pant’s dismissal, eventually being bowled out with a 371-run lead. With rain and bad light threatening to reduce playing time, the decision to bat deep ensured Sri Lanka were left with an extremely difficult target rather than being given any chance of mounting a competitive chase.
India’s bowlers then produced a relentless final session. Sri Lanka slipped to 41 for three, with fast bowlers making a significant contribution. Ten of the first 20 overs were delivered by pacers, who combined for 2/20 during that period.
Mohammed Siraj dismissed Nishan Madushka by bouncing him with the final delivery of his fourth over. Madushka attempted to hook but failed to keep the shot down.
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Debutant Pasindu Sooriyabandara, brought into the side after Dinesh Chandimal suffered a concussion while fielding, endured a difficult introduction to Test cricket. Manav Suthar produced a delivery that turned less than expected and beat Sooriyabandara’s inside edge, leaving the debutant dismissed almost immediately after arriving at the crease.
Prasidh Krishna followed with an excellent spell, finishing with figures of 5-2-9-1. He consistently bowled probing lengths and extracted movement both off the pitch and through variable bounce, with Kusal Mendis falling to one such delivery.
Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja continued to keep the pressure on, although Jadeja narrowly missed another wicket after appearing to dismiss Dhananjaya de Silva, only for the delivery to be ruled a no-ball.
Suthar later claimed another wicket when Lahiru Udana was caught low at gully by Jurel following a sharp chance that was confirmed after review. Bad light eventually halted play at 6.08pm, leaving Sri Lanka six wickets away from an unlikely escape and India firmly in command. With a second new ball potentially available on the final day, the visitors will be confident of completing a comprehensive victory.
