Twitter Reactions: Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne lead the revival act against India
Though Virat Kohli and his men looked to seal the deal as soon as possible, the Sri Lankans were not going down without a fight.
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The 3rd Day of the second Test saw both the teams have their share of highs and lows. Team India started the day dominantly with the ball as they restricted the Sri Lankans to a mere total of 183 runs. Falling 439 runs short of India’s first inning score, an ecstatic Virat Kohli decided to go for the finisher by handing the hosts with a follow on. India’s most prolific spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up a five wicket haul shutting down his critics in the most appropriate way. This was a much-needed success for the bowler after he was heavily criticised after the ICC Champions Trophy.
Sri Lankan second innings:
Though Virat Kohli and his men looked to seal the deal as soon as possible, the Sri Lankans were not going down without a fight. Despite losing Upul Tharanga early the Lions put up a valiant batting performance to end the day’s play. Star batsman Kusal Mendis and opener Dimuth Karunaratne gelled brilliantly to give the Indians a taste of what Rahane and Pujara did to them. Kusal Mendis was flawless in his 110 run knock as he thumped the Sri Lankan crest after reaching the century mark. Karunaratne played a brilliant supporting act as he remained not out till the end scoring 92 runs facing a whopping 200 balls.
The comeback made by the Sri Lankans are worth a million praise as the batsmen showed guts and character to revive the innings. The scorecard stood at 209 runs at the loss of 2 wickets with Karunaratne and Malinda Pushpakumara at the crease. It was a cunning decision from Dinesh Chandimal as he sent in Pushpakumara as the night watchman with the responsibility of hanging on for the remaining part of the day. It is believed that the captain wanted to avoid a loss of a crucial wicket in the last hour of play. Here is how the Twitterati reacted to the action packed Day-3:
Kusal Mendis now 15th batsman to make a Test 100 against India while following on.
5 of the 100s in losing causes
9 were drawn!#SLvInd— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 5, 2017
Last 3 Test centuries while follow-on:
Dimuth Karunaratne v NZ 2014
Dinesh Chandimal v ENG 2016
KUSAL MENDIS*All by Sri Lankans. #SLvIND
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) August 5, 2017
Kusal Mendis…
dropped on 1 (9 balls)
given out on 26 (39 balls) but got a DRS repreive.
Now a 100 (120 balls) – his 3rd in Tests! #SLvInd— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 5, 2017
Congratulations to Kusal Mendis on his 3rd test hundred! Easily his best in his short career considering the challenging pitch conditions!
— Roshan Abeysinghe (@RoshanCricket) August 5, 2017
Much needed breakthrough. Top catch by Saha. But outstanding innings by Kusal Mendis. Worthy of much applause.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) August 5, 2017
Courageous & fighting century by Kusal Mendis. Took the attack to India & never let them settle. Batted @KusalMendis1 #SLvIND #SriLanka #LKA
— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) August 5, 2017
Hardik Pandya gave the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing the centurion Kusal Mendis. #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/aYR7aUc6Hx
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) August 5, 2017
As players take Tea ☕️ he finds sometime to attend a phone call #SLvIND #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/nMwbwCvgLl
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 5, 2017
Indian captains enforcing the follow-on most times:
7⃣ M Azharuddin
4⃣ S Ganguly / MS Dhoni
3⃣ S Gavaskar / R Dravid/ V KOHLI #SLvIND— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 5, 2017
Most wickets after 51 Tests
284* – R Ashwin
next best: 269 – Dennis Lillee
* one more inns remain#SLvInd— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 5, 2017
Well played @IamDimuth Keep going ..keep going #SLvIND
— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) August 5, 2017
Sri Lanka's first innings – 183/10 in 49.4 overs
Karunaratne-Mendis pship – 183* in 49.4 overs #SLvIND— Bharath Seervi (@SeerviBharath) August 5, 2017
Kusal Mendis fantastic 100 just delayed India's win from 3rd day to 4th day.
Pretty sure they'll still gonna loose by an innings.#SLvIND
— Boring… (@graphicalcomic) August 5, 2017
Radhika Rahane, Tanya Yadav and Prithi Ashwin enjoying the India-Sri Lanka Test match in Colombo #SLvIND #2ndTest pic.twitter.com/Gm0g1lwmpD
— Cricket Trolls (@MycricketTrolls) August 5, 2017
Today.. Sri Lanka
1st inns – 133/8 in 29.4 overs
2nd inns – 209/2 in 60.0 overs#SLvInd— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 5, 2017
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