Sri Lanka are 39 runs short of the follow-on, and rain ended day three with two wickets left
India declared on 503 for 9 in Colombo and then watched Sri Lanka claw back to within sight of safety before the weather intervened at the SSC.
Aug 25, 2026
Rain ended the third day at the Sinhalese Sports Club with Sri Lanka on 265 for 8, still 39 runs short of the total that would force India to bat again. Sonal Dinusha was 85 not out at the close, Lahiru Kumara had survived 50 balls for his eight, and only Asitha Fernando was left to come.
India took the second new ball at 80.3 overs. Nineteen deliveries later the covers were on and the day was over.
Sri Lanka were 35 for 3 before anyone dug in
The hosts resumed on 8 for 2 after Monday’s late wickets in fading light, and the third went early on Tuesday when Kamil Mishara edged Prasidh Krishna through to Dhruv Jurel for 19. That left Sri Lanka 35 for 3 in the 10th over, against a first-innings total of 503 for 9 declared.
Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis put on 87 for the fourth wicket, the first 50 of it inside 77 balls. Sooriyabandara reached his own fifty from 76 balls with six fours and looked the most secure batter Sri Lanka had all day. He was 65 not out at lunch, when the score was 130 for 4, and rain and a wet outfield then took a chunk out of the afternoon.
When play resumed he found a way to get himself out. Ravindra Jadeja pushed one fuller, the inside edge came off the back leg, and the ball rolled back into the stumps. Sooriyabandara had 80 from 133 balls. Three balls into the next over Niroshan Dickwella tickled a short one from Mohammed Siraj down the leg side and Jurel took the catch, so 171 for 6 became 173 for 7 almost immediately.
Dinusha kept scoring while nobody else did
Dinusha had come in at 137 for 5 and played a different innings from everyone around him. He reached fifty from 82 balls with three fours and two sixes, and was 52 not out at tea with Sri Lanka 216 for 7.
The eighth-wicket stand with Keshara Nuwantha was worth 57, and the first 50 of it took 124 balls. Nuwantha faced 74 for his 18 before Manav Suthar had him caught by Saransh Jain. Kumara then blocked out the last hour, and Sri Lanka added 35 for the ninth wicket before the weather closed in.
Dinusha’s 85 came from 137 balls. He made 100 and 84 in the Galle Test, so this is his third score of fifty or more in three innings, and the third time in a row he has done it while a Sri Lanka innings has fallen apart around him.
Prasidh and Suthar took three each
Prasidh Krishna finished the day with 3 for 47 from 14 overs, and all three of his wickets came before lunch: Lahiru Udara in the second over of the morning, Mishara in the 10th, and Mendis caught by Jadeja in the 30th. Suthar’s 3 for 83 from 21 overs included nightwatchman Prabath Jayasuriya, who was trapped lbw off the last ball of Monday, and captain Dhananjaya de Silva for eight.
Jadeja’s 19.4 overs cost 45. Saransh Jain, playing his first Test after being picked ahead of Kuldeep Yadav, bowled 18 overs for 51 without a wicket, five of them maidens. Siraj’s one wicket cost 33 from 11 overs.
The follow-on question is day four’s first problem
India can enforce the follow-on if Sri Lanka finish 200 or more runs behind, which means the hosts need 304 to take the option away. They are on 265 with Dinusha set and two wickets in hand, so 39 runs from a pair that includes a No. 11 who has faced 50 balls for eight is not out of reach. It is not a formality either.
India lead the series 1-0 after winning at Galle by 165 runs, where Suthar took 10 wickets in the match. Two days are left here, and rain has already eaten into both of the last two. If the weather keeps taking sessions, the follow-on stops being a question about tired bowlers and starts being one about how many overs are actually left to bowl Sri Lanka out twice.