COLOMBO, Aug 26: India tightened their grip on the second Test against Sri Lanka after bowling out the hosts for 290 on Wednesday and enforcing the follow on at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Sri Lanka resumed their first innings with eight wickets down and still faced a sizeable deficit after India had declared at 503 for nine. The hosts eventually added 25 runs before their innings ended, leaving them 213 runs behind.
Sonal Dinusha emerged as the standout performer for Sri Lanka, completing a determined century that kept India’s bowlers at bay. His resistance provided the hosts with some relief after wickets had fallen regularly during the innings.
India’s bowling attack, however, remained in control. Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar were among the leading wicket takers as the visitors prevented Sri Lanka from building a substantial partnership.
India’s first innings had been powered by centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel, with the latter remaining unbeaten on 115 when the declaration was made.
With Sri Lanka trailing by 213 runs, India immediately sent the hosts back to bat, putting themselves in a strong position to press for victory and take further control of the series.