India Have a Fine Line to Walk on Day 4

 

Vaibhav Tripathi, Galle

At lunch on the third day, Sri Lanka were staring at the possibility of being bowled out before the final session. The hosts had lost five wickets, with the dismissals of experienced campaigner Dinesh Chandimal, in-form batter Lahiru Udara and skipper Dhananjaya de Silva leaving them in a precarious position.

What followed was an impressive fightback. Niroshan Dickwella joined forces with Sonal Dinusha and helped shift the momentum, while Sonal marked the occasion with his maiden international century. Their partnership gave Sri Lanka a much-needed lift when they appeared to be heading towards another collapse.

With the pitch offering plenty to the bowlers, especially the spinners, Dickwella and Sonal showed grit and determination to bat out the entire second session and keep India at bay. Safe to say, whatever plans India threw at the left-handed duo, they seemed prepared for every challenge. However, after tea, the Indian team once again got on a roll and took five wickets before the end of the day. For Sri Lanka, the biggest sigh of relief was avoiding the follow-on.

Fortunately, the rain gods stayed away from the Galle International Stadium to provide the best day of the Test so far in terms of overs bowled.

Heading into Day 4, India are still firmly ahead, with a lead of 178 runs. The visitors will come out to bat in an attempt to post a total that will be out of Sri Lanka’s reach.

What will be interesting to see is India’s approach. Will they see off the first hour and then start attacking, or will they go after the bowlers from ball one? Whatever approach they take, one thing that the Indian team will have to keep in mind is time. Already, a lot of time in the match has been lost due to rain. With the weather remaining uncertain, the Indian team will have to decide how they are going to go about their business in their second innings.

The pace at which they bat will also determine how many overs the Indian team can give their bowlers to take all ten wickets in the fourth innings.

Apart from that one partnership, Sri Lanka’s batting line-up did not inspire much confidence, and things will get even more difficult for them in the fourth innings. The pitch has deteriorated considerably. There is a lot of turn on offer, and conditions are only going to get more difficult from Sri Lanka’s perspective.

Rain is unlikely to play much of a role on Day 4, as the weather forecast for the majority of the day is clear. That will play into the hands of the Indian team.

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The post India Have a Fine Line to Walk on Day 4 appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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