Tea report: Dinesh Chandimal denies India

When Sri Lanka took lunch at 108/5, trailing India by 84 runs, it appeared that things could quickly go downhill in the afternoon on a surface that was assisting spin. Instead, Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne denied India for two-thirds of the session in a partnership of 125, scored at over five runs per over. Chandimal lost Thirimanne to India's best bowler by miles, R Ashwin, and by tea was not out on 98 from 98 balls with Sri Lanka's lead 71.

Two wickets at the end of an engaging morning session had severely dented Sri Lanka, because until then Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews had threatened to make India bat again through their 87-run alliance. Ashwin, whom Mathews had attacked with lovely use of the feet, struck hardly 15 minutes before the lunch break when Sangakkara, on 40, stabbed at a delivery that turned sharply for Ajinkya Rahane to take a superb reflex catch at slip. Moments later, Mathews, on 39, was undone by a rising delivery from Amit Mishra that was gobbled up at silly point.
Both Ashwin and Mishra were denied the wicket of Chandimal in their respective last overs of the session owing to umpiring misses, and as he had in the first innings the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman produced a perky half-century, his ninth in Tests. After the interval, he swatted two sixes off Mishra to set the tone for a bustling innings. Chandimal scored 40 from his first 30 balls to bring up his second fifty of the match at better than a run-a-ball, mixing crisp drives and bold reverse sweeps with the odd mistimed shot wide of fielders.
Thirimanne was not as fluent but played some pleasing drives, particularly square on the off side, to give his partner comfort. He looked set for a fifty but against the run of play, fell for 44 to a new spell from Ashwin, edging to Rahane at slip. Another left-hander, Jehan Mubarak got off a pair by hitting Mishra for six and was 23 not out at the break. Chandimal did not change his approach after losing Thirimanne, consistently trying to reverse-sweep India's spinners.
The Chandimal-Thirimanne stand was Sri Lanka's best for the match, coming after Sangakkara and Mathews had put on 87 in the morning. The day had begun on an excellent note for India with Varun Aaron delivering a wicket immediately, bouncing out the nightwatchman Dhammika Prasad to usher in Mathews. The batsman saw out Aaron's pacy spell and took a blow to the gut from Ishant Sharma, then jumped out at Ashwin and struck him for six first ball of his third over. Mathews looked to use his feet to Ashwin, repeatedly coming out and working the ball down the ground, while Sangakkara coolly worked singles off his pads.
Eventually it was Ashwin who snapped a threatening stand to cue Sangakkara's exit for the last time at Galle International Stadium. And just like he had done on the second evening, just before stumps, Mishra struck in his first over before lunch to get Mathews for 39.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 183 and 263/6 (Dinesh Chandimal 98*) lead India 375 by 84 runs.
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