India will be the first to admit that they lucked it out at the SSC ground on Wednesday after weathering a tempestuous storm whipped up by and Kamindu Mendis on the penultimate day of the second Test.
Trailing by 213 and being asked to follow on by Shubman Gill after being bowled out for 290, the hosts came out all guns blazing, embracing attack as the best form of defence. That paid off handsomely; even though openers Lahiru Udara and Kamil Mishara perished with 63 on the board, Sooriyabandara, primarily, and Mendis set about the Indian bowling with gusto, rendering them toothless on a surface that played a lot truer than anticipated.
Ravindra Jadeja
At various stages during the bruising third-wicket stand of 115 (110m, 172b), were chasing their tails. Negative lines and several men patrolling the boundary ropes proved no deterrent to Sooriyabandara, in only his second Test, as he used the sweep of all variety – conventional, paddle, slog and reverse – with devastating effect when he was not chipping down the track and driving through the straight field. But India stormed back after tea to reduce the hosts to 229 for six, a mere 16 ahead, and will eye a 2-0 sweep on the morrow if the rain stays away.
Mendis, whose batting has fallen off after he reached 1000 Test runs in only 13 innings, took his team finding his feet but once he got his eye in, he matched Sooriyabandara stroke for stroke. The result was a dazzling passage of play with Manav Suthar and debutant Saransh Jain at the receiving end, Ravindra Jadeja alone providing control.
Saransh Jain
India heaved a huge sigh when Mendis fell against the run of play, reprising his dismissal of the first innings with a pull against superbly pouched by Gill running backwards from mid-wicket. Dhananjaya de Silva’s arrival at the crease strangely compelled Sooriyabandara to go into his shell and it was always on the cards that when one wicket fell, a couple would follow.
That’s what happened once de Silva was unfortunately caught at gully as he whipped the ball on to his pad, from where it lobbed to Devdutt Padikkal. When his captain was in the middle, Sooriyabandara (92) added just eight in 50 deliveries and the pressure told as he charged Suthar, who smartly threw the ball wide for Rishabh Pant to complete a stumping. Niroshan Dickwella’s dismissal meant had lost three wickets in 34 deliveries, with India primed to move in for the kill.
Sri Lanka’s Kamindu Mendis (left) celebrates his half-century with Pasindu Sooriyabandara in Colombo on Wednesday. Pic/AFP
Brief scores
India 503-9d vs SL 290 (S Dinusha 103, P Sooriyabandara 80, K Mendis 32; P Krishna 3-52, M Suthar 3-85, S Jain 2-69) & 229-6 (P Sooriyabandara 92, K Mendis 55, K Mishara 32; M Suthar 2-81)