Sri Lanka staring down the barrel

Asitha Fernando was the most impressive of the Sri Lankan bowlers taking 4/31

Pasindu Sooriyabandara who came in as concussion sub for Dinesh Chandimal takes a brilliant catch to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja

• Lose 4 for 84 chasing 372

Sa’adi Thawfeeq reporting from Galle

GALLE: Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel of defeat after losing four wickets for 84 chasing a tall target of 372 in four sessions in the first cricket Test against India at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

With India being all out for 193 in their second innings by tea time on the fourth day, it left Sri Lanka to survive the final session during which period they lost four wickets, two of them to left-arm spinner Mahanav Suthar who is expected to play a key role today on a deteriorating pitch. Sri Lanka trail by 288 runs with six wickets in hand and will hope for some help from the weather if they are to draw this Test which India is firmly in control.

Bad light clipped 14 of the 48 overs that was due to be bowled in the final session, but India has 98 overs to bowl Sri Lanka out if the weather stays away.

India started their second innings looking for quick runs. Only three batters reached double figures - Lokesh Rahul (35) and Devdutt Padikkal (44) added 65 for the second wicket, but Rishabh Pant’s breezy 66 off 69 balls (8 fours, 2 sixes) really set them up.

Sri Lanka bowled well for most of the innings, consistently attacking and chipping away to keep India to 193 in their second innings, but the overall lead mounted to 371 and no team has chased that many runs in the fourth innings at this venue. Only once has a 300-plus target been gunned down in a Test at Galle - by Pakistan in 2022. They chased down 342 with four wickets to spare. If SL manage to hunt this down, it will be a record chase.

Nishan Madushka fell cheaply once again to Mohamed Siraj and concussion substitute Pasindu Sooriyabandara bagged a first-ball duck on his Test debut. That was not how he would have imagined playing his first ball in Test cricket. He was suddenly thrown in as a concussion sub with little time to prepare and asked to replace one of the team’s best batters Dinesh Chandimal.

Kamindu Mendis chased one and edged Prasidh Krishna to slip while Lahiru Udara was probably a tad unlucky as he edged Suthar to gully and the resulting catch was given as out by the third umpire.

Dhananjaya de Silva who received a reprieve on seven after being caught off a no-ball hung on gamely for 31* off 73 balls and first innings centurion Sonal Dinusha looked positive striking four fours in his 25*. But it is still a long haul for Sri Lanka. As things stand, India need six wickets to go 1-0 up while Sri Lanka require another 288 runs, thus setting up a thrilling finish to the Test, not forgetting the rain which could also play a role.

Sri Lanka bowlers put up an excellent performance doing most of the damage to the Indian second innings when the spinners were expected to rule the roost. Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara bent their backs in the second session, bowling short deliveries and ended up taking six wickets between them, while left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya finished with figures of 3/43.

Starting the day with a lead of 178, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal to the second delivery. Rahul and Devdutt Padikkal shared a 65-run stand for the second wicket, but that was when India started to lose wickets at regular intervals. Pant was the only Indian batter in the middle order to make a substantial contribution, and he did it in his own style. The last six batters only managed 34 runs between them as India were bowled out for under 200.