India vs Sri Lanka 2017: 1st Test, Day 3 - 5 things we learnt from the day's play
After dismissing India for 172, Sri Lanka have come within eight runs of taking a lead at the end of play on the third day. A brilliant 99-run partnership between Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews underscored the visitors' sparkling performance.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept probing the Lankan batsmen with swing and seam movement. He accounted for the wickets of both openers. When it seemed like the match was slipping away from them, Umesh Yadav provided India with a major breakthrough by getting rid of Thirimanne. The express pacer also procured the wicket of Mathews to bring the hosts back into the contest.
Also Read: Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal not penalised for "fake fielding"
Earlier, Pujara completed a well-deserved half-century before being cleaned up Lahiru Gamage. Even though the tail wagged a bit, Dilruwan Perera and the seamers halted India's charge. Here are five things we learnt from the third day's play at Eden Gardens.
#5 Thirimanne and Mathews smack half-centuries
Sri Lanka had the better of the batting conditions on offer but still needed to make it count. They lost their openers quite early but Thirimanne and Mathews resurrected their innings with a fighting 99-run partnership.
India's seam bowlers toiled away but Thirimanne and Mathews kept putting away the loose balls to the boundary. They constantly rotated the strike to take Lanka closer to India's first innings total. Thirimanne, who was reprieved by Dhawan earlier, fell soon after his half-century. He edged Umesh Yadav to Virat Kohli at slip. Soon after, Mathews followed suit by playing a horrendous shot.