A serious incident occurred on the fourth day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka: Yashvi Singh Jayaswal returned to the dressing room without scoring a single run. Although the third day was interrupted by rain, the Indian team maintained a significant advantage thanks to the strong performance of their bowlers, securing a comfortable lead of 178 runs in the first innings.
The start of the fourth day was marked by the Indian batsmen coming onto the field with the sole objective of setting such a high target that it would be impossible for the Sri Lankan team to recover.
Indian bowlers made their impression as early as the third day of the match. When the Sri Lankan team came out to bat, replying to 462 runs in the first innings, their start was extremely weak. Siraj sent Fernando back to the dressing room by the second ball, putting Sri Lanka in a defensive position.
Subsequently, talented spinners Manav Sutara and Ravindra Jadeja showcased their skills. Sutara lured players like Chandimal and Udara into his trap, while Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja continued to dismantle the middle order of the team. By the 90-run mark, half of the Sri Lankan squad was already in the dressing room.
The struggling visiting team received support from Sonal Dinusha and Niroshan Dickwella. These two formed a solid partnership at the sixth wicket, accumulating 146 runs, and managed to keep the Indian bowlers away from taking wickets. Dickwella played an aggressive innings of 80 runs, while Sonal Dinusha helped the team avoid the threat of a follow-on by scoring his first Test century in his career.
Despite all efforts, Prasidh Krishna and Jadeja managed to break this partnership, reducing Sri Lanka's entire innings to 284 runs. Among the Indian players, Manav Sutara took the most wickets with 4, and Jadeja earned 3 successes.
