CHENNAI: The ending seemed inevitable by lunch on Day three when the scoreboard read Sri Lanka - 99/5 in 28 overs, trailing by 361 runs. But for a while, the next 30 overs at least, the hosts showed why they were here for a fight.
Sonal Dinusha, along with comeback man Niroshan Dickwella, tested the patience of India's bowling attack on a slow surface. They negated the spinners with ease, seemed untroubled against Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna with a softer Kookaburra ball while waging a battle against India.
Till they got together, India had made the new ball talk with Siraj striking early. Manav Suthar showed why he is rated so highly with sharp turn, bounce while maintaining consistent line and length. Ravindra Jadeja was well... Ravindra Jadeja. And Shubman Gill had taken an inspiring catch at short midwicket to hand Kuldeep Yadav his wicket.
By lunch, it did seem like India might be batting sooner than expected. But Dinusha and Dickwella decided not just yet. First came a fifty partnership, then came their respective fifties and before you knew it, both were inching towards their centuries. Then came the dismissal of Dickwella. The left-hander, missing out on another century, nicked a good length delivery off Prasidh and soon the floodgates opened. It did not matter much that Dinusha cruised to his century. The hosts went from 236/5 to 284 all out (178 runs behind) with Jadeja marking his milestone (350th Test wicket).
Just as the players walked off the field, it started raining with the match officials calling it a day. Though Sri Lanka will be pleased with the fightback, they will be aware that it might not be enough.
As far as India are concerned, the day's play was all about Suthar coming to his own in Test cricket while playing alongside Jadeja.
The Rajasthan spinner had started preparing with Kookaburra ball shortly after the Afghanistan Test and it showed during the India A series as well as the ongoing Test. "I was practising with the Kookaburra ball after the Afghanistan Test. So, my plan was pretty simple to bowl in good areas, right length, right speed as the wicket here offers some bounce too which makes it mandatory to bowl at the right line," Suthar elaborated after the day's play. ""When I was bowling, it did not feel that the ball was soft. Even they batted so well. The wicket did not fall in the entire second session. But our team was focused on how we can create opportunities. You got the result of that in the next session," he added.
The youngster explained how watching Jadeja from close quarters has been a learning experience. "There are a lot of things that I can learn from him. He uses the (bowling) crease so well. His consistency while bowling at stumps is world class. So I would like to learn from him that no matter what the batter is doing. How long can I bowl on the stump? Can you get a false shot? So there's a lot to learn from him," he explained.
While Suthar and Jadeja have done their part for now, it is over to the batters to score some quick runs on Day 4 before bringing the spinners back into the play and get the much-needed win and World Test Championship points in the next 48 hours.