KOLKATA: Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews hit half-centuries to give Sri Lanka the advantage against India on day three of the rain-hit opening Test on Saturday. The visitors were 165-4 in their first innings when bad light ended a dramatic day at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens. They trail India by seven runs with skipper Dinesh Chandimal not out on 13 and Niroshan Dickwella on 14. Indian paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav claimed two wickets each on a day when almost three full sessions were played. Only 31.5 overs were bowled on the first two days because of rain and bad light. The islanders depended on a 99-run third wicket stand between Thirimanne, who made 51, and Mathews, who scored 52, after losing their openers early. The left-right batting combination of Thirimanne and Mathews mixed caution and aggression against a persistent Indian pace attack. Thirimanne, who was dropped on 27, registered his fifth Test fifty but soon edged a moving delivery by Yadav, and skipper Virat Kohli made no mistake at second slip. Yadav struck again in his next over to send Mathews, making a 50 in an impressive comeback from injury, back to the pavilion after giving away a simple catch to Lokesh Rahul at short cover. Kumar struck early to remove openers Dimuth Karunaratne, for eight, and Sadeera Samarawickrama, for 23, as the visitors slipped to 34-2 before bouncing back. In the morning session, a late-order push by Indian batsmen saw the hosts post 172, a score that looked unlikely at 128-8. After overnight batsman Cheteshwar Pujara fell early on 52, vital contributions from Wriddhiman Saha (29), Ravindra Jadeja (22) and 24 from number-10 Mohammed Shami frustrated the Sri Lankan bowling. Shami limped off during the Sri Lankan innings five balls into an over which he could not finish. Pace spearhead Suranga Lakmal finished with figures of 4-26 after taking three wickets on day one to justify the visitors’ decision to field first. Sri Lanka, despite being underdogs against the top-ranked hosts, are eyeing their first Test win on Indian soil during the three-match series. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will host India and Bangladesh for a Twenty20 International tri-series in March 2018 to celebrate their 70th year of independence. A Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) release confirmed seven T20Is to be played from March 8 to 20 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Each team will play each other twice before the final on March 20. Called the ‘Nidahas Trophy’, the tri-series will also mark the 70th year for Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala was the visionary behind the Nidahas Trophy in 1998 too, which marked the 50th year of the country’s independence and involved India and New Zealand as the visiting teams. India had won the trophy then which was played as an One-Day International tri-series. “We are privileged to be a part of Sri Lanka’s 70th year celebrations, there is no closer friend to the BCCI than Sri Lanka (and Bangladesh) and when Mr. Sumathipala first floated this invitation, there was almost instant agreement that the Indian team would participate for this reason,” Board of Control for Cricket in India CEO Rahul Johri said. Sumathipala, too, expressed his optimism on the relevance of the series. “70 years is a long journey, and one that needs to be commemorated and celebrated. We are happy that our closest neighbours, who share more or less the same journey of independence, are joining us in this celebration, which we believe will be a milestone and an augur of the great things to come in the annals of cricket.” Score Board TOSS: SRI LANKA INDIA 1ST INNINGS Rahul c Dickwella b Lakmal 0 Dhawan b Lakmal 8 Pujara b Gamage 52 Kohli lbw b Lakmal 0 Rahane c Dickwella b Shanaka 4 Ashwin c Karunaratne b Shanaka 4 Saha c Mathews b Perera 29 Jadeja lbw b Perera 22 Kumar c Dickwella b Lakmal 13 Shami c Shanaka b Gamage 24 Yadav not out 6 Extras (LB-4, B-6) 10 Total (All out, 59.3 overs) 172 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-13, 3-17, 4-30, 5-50, 6-79, 7-127, 8-128, 9-146, 10-172. BOWLING: Lakmal 19-12-26-4, Gamage 17.3-5-59-2, Shanaka 12-4-36-2, Karunaratne 2-0-17-0, Herath 2-0-5-0, Perera 7-1-19-2. SRI LANKA 1ST INNINGS Samarawickrama c Saha b Kumar 23 Karunaratne lbw b Kumar 8 Thirimanne c Kohli b Yadav 51 Mathews c Rahul b Yadav 52 Chandimal not out 13 Dickwella not out 14 Extras (LB-4) 4 Total (4 wkts, 45.4 overs) 165 Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-34, 3-133, 4-138. Still to bat: Shanaka, Perera, Herath, Lakmal, Gamage. BOWLING: Kumar 14.4-2-49-2, Shami 13.5-5-53-0, Yadav 13-1-50-2, Ashwin 4-0-9-0, Kohli 0.1-0-0-0. Match officials: Umpires: Nigel Llong (ENG), Joel Wilson (WIS); TV umpire: Anil Chaudhary (IND); Match referee: David Boon (AUS).
