The third day of the opening Test of Sri Lanka vs West Indies was called off early due to rain as the Windies had their tail hanging even after avoiding follow-on at the Galle International Stadium.
West Indies added nine runs from 30 balls and lost Rahkeem Cornwall in a brief passage of play before heaven opened after lunch. The forecast for the next two days was more wet weather.
When the new ball was due, Suranga Lakmal was called up to bowl the 79th over of West Indies’ innings from City’s end and he dismissed Cornwall.
Lakmal bowled a short and Cornwall could not resist the pull shot, but the execution went wrong and was caught by Ramesh Mendis running back from mid-wicket. Cornwall scored 39 runs in 58 balls with the help of five fours and a six.
But the 49-run stand between Cornwall and Joshua da Silva ensured that West Indies avoided the follow-on.
After a brief halt in rain, the umpires inspected the ground and decided to resume play. Another rain soon washed away before the final session could even begin, threatening to sabotage Sri Lanka’s early advantage.
Sri Lanka’s spin bowling coach Piyal Wijetunga said, “We are hoping and praying that the gods of the weather have mercy on us.”
“Not one hundred percent happy with the way we went about things,” he said.
“The boys are excited and they try to do a lot of things without sticking to the basics. Patience is the key and they need to learn.”
Play will resume for the final two days to make up the lost time, with 98 overs each.
Earlier, Sri Lanka had played an innings of 386 runs while batting first. Captain Dimuth Karunaratne scored his 13th Test century with 147 runs, while Dhananjaya de Silva (61) and Pathum Nisanka (56) scored half-centuries.
West Indies were reduced to 113 for six at stumps on the second day, but recovered thanks to a rearguard action from the lower order. Kyle Meyers (45), Jason Holder (36) and Cornwall (39) all won.
The side’s only warm-up match before the series, the four-day match against the Board President’s XI in Colombo, was canceled without a ball being bowled due to rain.
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