On the third day of the Test match between India and Sri Lanka, Indian bowlers increased the pressure on the home team, but they faced unexpected resistance. Young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar completely dismantled the top order of the Sri Lankan side with his spin. By lunchtime, the home team had lost five wickets, scoring only 99 runs, and it seemed their innings would end quickly after replying to the first innings total of 462.
Dinusha demonstrated incredible patience against the Indian bowlers, recording his first international century. Along with experienced Niroshan Dickwella, he built a partnership of 146 runs for the sixth wicket, forcing India to wait long for the next wicket. In the end, Sri Lanka was brought to 284 runs in the first innings, but India gained a significant advantage of 178 runs.
Sri Lanka needed a strong start to post a large total in the first innings, but Mohammed Siraj dismissed Fernando on the second ball, giving India a brilliant start. Fernando's shot could not counter Siraj's delivery, which was outside off and had lift, and the ball went into the hands of Devdhadh Pathikkala. After this, Manav Suthar took charge.
From the very first ball, Dimuth Chandimal received a slight edge that went into Rishabh Pant's gloves. Then Suthar began troubling the Sri Lankan batsmen by constantly varying the line, trajectory, depth, and turn of the ball. He made the ball fly in the air at speeds exceeding 85 kilometers per hour, extracting help from the fielders.
Lahiru Udara initially countered him for some time and played several impressive pull and cut shots, but Suthar eventually found a way to dismiss him. A weak shot led to Yashwish Kaisaval catching it in the gully. Chamindu Mendis also did not last long. His lofted shot against Kuldeep Yadav's delivery became a victim of Shubman Gill's excellent catch. Captain Danjaya de Silva was caught by Kel Rahul in the slip off Ravindra Jadeja's bowling.
At 99 runs for five wickets, India's position was very solid. However, then came Dinusha's innings.
But in cricket, the competition is not just about statistics. Sri Lanka needed a batsman at that moment who could understand the situation and stabilize the innings. Sonal Dinusha did exactly that. Along with Niroshan Dickwella, he did not rush to attack the Indian spinners. Both chose their shots very cautiously. The sweep became their favorite weapon, and both effectively drove balls coming down the stumps to the boundary using their feet.
Dickwella reached a half-century off 67 balls, while Dinusha required 92 balls to reach that mark. But this slowness became their strength. They fought to preserve wickets rather than score runs. In the second session, Sri Lanka added 116 runs without losing a wicket.
Dickwella capitalized on an opportunity, getting a chance at a duck when his personal score was 20. On a Suthar ball, Kel Rahul could not reach his drive in the slip. However, in the second innings, Dickwella's fate was not kind. When he hit a ball from Krishna, it flew straight into Rishabh Pant's gloves. Dickwella was dismissed on 80 runs off 115 balls. Sri Lanka felt again that the innings was about to end, but Dinusha remained.
He did not let the pressure get over him and gradually approached his first international century. He reached a three-digit score off 167 balls. This was his first century in international cricket and extremely important for Sri Lanka's innings. But as soon as he completed the century, the story ended on the next ball.
On Ravindra Jadeja's bowling, Dinusha was given LBW. 100 runs, 168 balls—a magnificent innings that saved Sri Lanka.
Dinusha's innings stabilized Sri Lanka, but the biggest story of this innings was Manav Suthar's performance. Suthar, playing for India for the first time in Test cricket, demonstrated confidence against the top order of Sri Lanka, which is a great achievement for this Test. He took four wickets for 76 runs. His teammate Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets for 57 runs. Both left-arm spinners kept the Sri Lankan innings under constant pressure.
The method of Dinusha and Dickwella differed from the approach of other Sri Lankan batsmen. Many top-order batsmen tried to play shots away from the body and got into difficult catches. In contrast, the sixth-wicket partnership showed that facing good spin requires not only aggression but also patience and technique. India started the day with a score of 460/9 and was brought to 462 runs, adding only two runs. After this, the bowlers did their job. Sri Lanka collapsed for 284 runs. India has a lead of 178 runs. Suthar shook the top order of Sri Lanka, Dinusha temporarily stopped this storm, but in the end, India won on the third day.
