Day 4: Wickets fell in showers, but resistance kept going until bad light and rain brought an early close. Sri Lanka finished the day at 229 for 6; the home team is 16 runs ahead with four wickets in hand.
Morning Session: Dinusha’s Ton in Vain as India Enforces Follow-On
Sri Lanka resumed at 265/8, still 38 short of avoiding the follow-on. Sonal Dinusha was one of the few batters who showed courage against Indian bowlers, driving and sweeping with real poise; he brought up his second hundred of the series — 103 off 162 balls — a lone beacon of class in a crumbling innings. The joy was short-lived. Debutant Saransh Jain, playing his first Test, struck twice in quick succession: first removing Lahiru Kumara, then having Dinusha edge behind to a sharp KL Rahul catch at slip for his maiden Test wicket. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 290, handing India a commanding 213-run lead, and Shubman Gill wasted no time enforcing the follow-on.
Sri Lankan openers once again failed to give Sri Lanka the start it needed. Mohammed Siraj sent Lahiru Udara back to the pavilion for 3 runs. Kamil Mishara (32) and Pasindu Sooriyabandara stitched together a 58-run partnership. Just before lunch break, Ravindra Jadeja struck, trapping Mishara lbw and putting Sri Lanka under extra pressure at the break.
Sri Lanka was 83/2 at lunch.
Tea Session: Sooriyabandara and Mendis Fight Back
There was a defiance about Sri Lanka’s approach after lunch that changed the entire complexion of the day. Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis chose attack over anxiety, and their 115-run stand for the third wicket had the SSC crowd believing again.
Sooriyabandara built in confidence with each sweep he found against Jadeja and Suthar, while Mendis was timing the ball and waiting for loose or tossed-up deliveries. Both batters went on to bring up well-earned half-centuries, and for a while it felt like the deficit may disappear without further alarm.
Then came the moment that turned the session on its head. Prasidh Krishna banged in a short one, Mendis could only fend it off the splice, and Shubman Gill flung himself full length at mid-wicket to complete a stunning catch. Mendis departed for 55 — and with him, a chunk of Sri Lanka’s momentum.
Sri Lanka at the end of the tea session: Sri Lanka 199/3 (56 overs) (trailing by 14 runs).
Evening Session: Suthar’s Double-Strike
If the afternoon had belonged to Sri Lanka, the evening was India’s answer — and Manav Suthar delivered it almost single-handedly. Coming out after tea with fields tightened and singles cut off, India’s Manav Suthar struck twice.
Suthar first got one to skid on with the arm, catching Dhananjaya de Silva’s pad and looping gently to Devdutt Padikkal at short leg — a soft dismissal for the captain, but a crucial one. Sooriyabandara, batting beautifully on 92 and just eight runs from a maiden Test century, went searching for the milestone with a charge down the track. Suthar read it perfectly, dragging his length wide enough to beat the outside edge, and Rishabh Pant did the rest — bails off in a blur. There was no fairytale ending, just the long, quiet walk back that every batter dreads.
Saransh Jain, capping off a memorable debut, added Niroshan Dickwella lbw soon after, tightening India’s grip further. By then the skies over the SSC had turned the color of the pitch, and with rain rolling in, the umpires had to send the players off early.
At the End of Day 4 : Sri was 229-6; the home team led by 16 runs
Last Updated on August 26, 2026 by Aditiya Sharma
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