Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and one drop batter Oshada Fernando were run-out in the late stages of the 3rd session as the hosts went into stumps on day 3 still trailing West Indies by 3 runs.
Dimuth Karunaratne has enjoyed a purple patch in Test cricket in 2021, turning into the backbone off the Sri Lankan batting line-up. However, Sri Lanka’s batting has struggled when he hasn’t made runs, making his dismissal in the 2nd innings late on day 3 worrying as he was run-out going for a run that just wasn’t there.
To make matters worse, Oshada Fernando too was run-out in similar fashion, putting Sri Lanka in deep trouble at 46/2 at stumps. With Angelo Mathews expected to be hampered by his hamstring tear, Sri Lanka’s middle order will have a tough task to set West Indies a defendable total.
Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan spinners continued to struggle with their lengths in the 1st session of play, with both Brathwaite and overnight batter Nkrumah Bonner looking to play on the back foot.
Ironically, it was fast bowler Suranga Lakmal who looked the most threatening of the hosts’ bowlers, managing to hit the pads and beat the bat of both batters on a number of occasions during his spell of 5 overs for 6 runs.
The breakthrough eventually came when Ramesh Mendis trapped Bonner in front for 35, and from that point Sri Lanka was able to pick up wickets at regular intervals with Mendis being the chief tormenter, picking up his maiden first class 5-wicket haul and finishing with figures of 6/70.
The visitors’ fall of wickets almost mirrored Sri Lanka’s first innings, but Kyle Mayers and Veerasamy Permaul made some crucial runs to help the visitors get to a lead of 49.
Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pathum Nissanka | lbw b Veerasammy Permaul | 73 | 148 | 0 | 0 | 49.32 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c & b Roston Chase | 42 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 46.67 |
| Oshada Fernando | c Joshua Da Silva b Jomel Warrican | 18 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Angelo Mathews | b Jomel Warrican | 29 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 64.44 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | c Joshua Da Silva b Veerasammy Permaul | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Nkrumah Bonner b Veerasammy Permaul | 10 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | lbw b Jomel Warrican | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Shai Hope b Jomel Warrican | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 55.56 |
| Suranga Lakmal | c Jomel Warrican b Veerasammy Permaul | 12 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | b Veerasammy Permaul | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Praveen Jayawickrama | not out | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 10 (b 0 , lb 7 , nb 3, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 204/10 (61.3 Overs, RR: 3.32) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kemar Roach | 6 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Jason Holder | 8 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 2.88 | |
| Kyle Mayers | 2 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6.50 | |
| Veerasammy Permaul | 13 | 3 | 35 | 5 | 2.69 | |
| Roston Chase | 14 | 0 | 64 | 1 | 4.57 | |
| Jomel Warrican | 18.3 | 5 | 50 | 4 | 2.73 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraig Brathwaite | b Lasith Embuldeniya | 72 | 185 | 0 | 0 | 38.92 |
| Jermaine Blackwood | lbw b Praveen Jayawickrama | 44 | 99 | 0 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Nkrumah Bonner | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 35 | 95 | 0 | 0 | 36.84 |
| Shai Hope | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 22 | 89 | 0 | 0 | 24.72 |
| Roston Chase | c Pathum Nissanka b Ramesh Mendis | 10 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 30.30 |
| Kyle Mayers | not out | 36 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 62.07 |
| Jason Holder | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 4 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Joshua Da Silva | b Ramesh Mendis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kemar Roach | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Praveen Jayawickrama | 8 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 88.89 |
| Veerasammy Permaul | b Lasith Embuldeniya | 15 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 39.47 |
| Jomel Warrican | c Chamika Karunaratne b Ramesh Mendis | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Extras | 6 (b 0 , lb 0 , nb 6, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 253/10 (104.2 Overs, RR: 2.42) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suranga Lakmal | 9 | 3 | 22 | 0 | 2.44 | |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 35 | 13 | 94 | 2 | 2.69 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 34.2 | 8 | 70 | 6 | 2.05 | |
| Praveen Jayawickrama | 25 | 4 | 59 | 2 | 2.36 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimuth Karunaratne | run out () | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Pathum Nissanka | lbw b Roston Chase | 66 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 42.86 |
| Oshada Fernando | run out () | 14 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 34.15 |
| Charith Asalanka | c Nkrumah Bonner b Veerasammy Permaul | 19 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 34.55 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | not out | 155 | 262 | 0 | 0 | 59.16 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c & b Roston Chase | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Ramesh Mendis | c Kemar Roach b Kraig Brathwaite | 25 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 43.10 |
| Suranga Lakmal | lbw b Veerasammy Permaul | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 63.64 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Jermaine Blackwood b Veerasammy Permaul | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Lasith Embuldeniya | b Jason Holder | 39 | 124 | 0 | 0 | 31.45 |
| Extras | 11 (b 4 , lb 4 , nb 2, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 345/9 (121.4 Overs, RR: 2.84) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Veerasammy Permaul | 40 | 4 | 106 | 3 | 2.65 | |
| Roston Chase | 27 | 2 | 82 | 2 | 3.04 | |
| Jomel Warrican | 29 | 5 | 76 | 0 | 2.62 | |
| Kemar Roach | 8 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 3.38 | |
| Jason Holder | 9.4 | 1 | 26 | 0 | 2.77 | |
| Kraig Brathwaite | 5 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 2.20 | |
| Nkrumah Bonner | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraig Brathwaite | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 6 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Jermaine Blackwood | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 36 | 92 | 0 | 0 | 39.13 |
| Nkrumah Bonner | b Lasith Embuldeniya | 44 | 143 | 0 | 0 | 30.77 |
| Shai Hope | c Suranga Lakmal b Ramesh Mendis | 16 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Roston Chase | c Avishka Fernando b Ramesh Mendis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kyle Mayers | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Ramesh Mendis | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jason Holder | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 25.00 |
| Joshua Da Silva | not out | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 26.67 |
| Kemar Roach | lbw b Lasith Embuldeniya | 13 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 76.47 |
| Veerasammy Permaul | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Jomel Warrican | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Lasith Embuldeniya | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Extras | 6 (b 4 , lb 2 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 132/10 (56.1 Overs, RR: 2.35) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasith Embuldeniya | 20.1 | 6 | 35 | 5 | 1.74 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 25 | 6 | 66 | 5 | 2.64 | |
| Praveen Jayawickrama | 10 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 2.30 | |
| Charith Asalanka | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 | |
