Coming into Day 5, nobody predicted the fight that Sonal Dinusha and Co. would conjure to keep India at bay. At stumps on Day 4 on Wednesday, India had put itself in a winning position in the second Test by restricting Sri Lanka in its second innings after enforcing the follow-on. India batted first after winning the toss at the Sinhalese Sports Club and scored a massive 503/9 declared, then bowled Sri Lanka out for 290. Having been forced to follow on, Sri Lanka reached 229/6 to lead by only 16 runs on Day 4.
It was a frustrating day for the Shubman Gill -led Indian cricket team in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
It was a frustrating day for the Shubman Gill-led Indian cricket team in the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday. Coming into Day 5, nobody predicted the fight that Sonal Dinusha and Co. would conjure to keep India at bay
On Day 5, Sonal Dinusha was once again India’s tormentor-in-chief as he scored 133* off 264 balls. Sri Lanka’s second innings score read 429/9 when the two teams decided to shake hands. The little left-hander produced his fourth 50-plus score in as many innings in this series as the Indians might just seriously consider writing a calypso for him: ‘We Couldn’t Out Dinusha.’
That innings ruined India’s hopes of a win. But the numbers tell only half the tale, as Dinusha continued to be a thorn in India’s flesh, a term used by spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule at the end of the fourth day here.
