Colombo Test: Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis fight back to take Lanka to 209/2

Sri Lankan cricketer Dimuth Karunaratne L and teammate Kusal Mendis run between the wickets during the third day of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and India at the Sinhalese Sports Club SSC Ground in Colombo AFP PHOTOThe resilient Sri Lankan pair of Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis displayed their best batting performance to keep India at bay after a first innings debacle guiding the hosts to 209 for 2 in Colombo on the third day of the second TestAfter being bowled out for a paltry 183 in the first innings losing as many as as eight wickets in a single session No 3 Mendis 110 off 135 balls and opener Karunaratne 92 batting 200 balls added 191 as the visitors could get only two wickets in the next two sessionsWhile Sri Lanka still need 230 runs to avoid innings defeat with two days left the pitch losing a bit of bite and the effort by the toporder should help the home team make a match out of itSpin twins Ravichandran Ashwin 079 in 24 overs and Ravindra Jadeja 076 in 16 overs looked a pale shadow of their original self which saw them account for bulk of the Sri Lankan wickets in the first innings Indias allrounder Hardik Pandyas 112 in 5 overs came in handy as he induced an inside edge of Mendis with Wriddhiman Saha taking a smart catch down legsideWith the pitch losing a bit of pace the two Indian spinners couldnt make much of an impact after Ashwins 26th fivewicket haul in the first innings and Jadejas milestone 150th wicketCredit to the Lankan pair who had a plan against the spinners especially Mendis who used the sweep shot to good effect They were ready to use their feet coming to the pitch of the deliveries smothering the spinWhile Mendis attacked it suited Karunaratnes game plan very well as he held anchor at one end Sri Lanka didnt look to defend as they scored at a healthy rate of nearly 35 runs per overMendis got to his third Test century off 120 balls He hit 17 boundaries in all while Karunaratnes patience knock had 12 foursKohli did rotate his bowlers but the pacers were only used in short spellsKohli and co desperation was evident as they wasted a review during the last hour of play against Karunaratne off Jadeja The ball didnt take any edge instead it brushed the thigh padTheir partnership was the second highest for the second wicket for Sri Lanka against India after 576 runs put on by Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama in 1997Earlier Sri Lanka came out with a lot of positive intent as they reached 118 for 1 at tea after being asked to follow onPost lunch Lanka began their second innings after being asked to followon Kohli again opened with spin from one end handing Umesh Yadav 129 and Ashwin the new ballYadav bowled opener Upul Tharanga 2 in the third over as India made a quick start in their bid to win this TestBut Karunaratne and Mendis stood firm to defy the Indian bowling The key to their stand was seeing out Ashwins initial spell as Mohammed Shami was soon introduced into the attack along with JadejaThe two batsmen left the ball well and played some brilliant strokes to keep the runs ticking along as Lankas 50 came up in the 12th overIndia missed one chance when Shikhar Dhawan dropped a sitter at midon off Ashwin in the eighth over when the centurion was batting one oneThereafter there were no slipups as he duo brought up their 50partnership in 79 balls Later their 100partnership came up in 113 balls as Lanka crossed 100 in the 24th overMendis also survived a caught behind appeal off Jadeja via DRS as the ball touched the thigh pad and was never even close to the edgeKarunaratne scored his 13th Test halfcentury off 83 balls while Mendis scored his 5th Test halfcentury off 53 balls as they countered the Indian bowling for onceEarlier in reply to Indias mammoth 6229 declared Sri Lanka collapsed to 183 all out at lunch conceding their highestever first innings lead in Test cricket iquest 439 runs more than 419 runs against Pakistan at Galle in 2000 Ashwin 569 picked up his 26th fivewicket haul in Test cricketStarting from overnight 502 it was surprising to see Ashwin not handed the ball straight away Instead Umesh Yadav 112 and Ravindra Jadeja 284 started proceedings getting instant resultsDinesh Chandimal 10 was the first to go in the fifth over of the day caught at square leg off Jadeja In the very next over Yadav had Kusal Mendis 24 caught at midon striking a double body blow to Sri Lankaiquests hopes of defiance on this dayIt brought Angelo Mathews 26 and Niroshan Dickwella 51 to the crease and the duo decided to attack the Indian bowling particularly the spinners Together they hit 7 fours and 3 sixes against Jadeja and Ashwin who had been introduced into the attack They put on 53 runs for the 5th wicket taking Lanka past 100 in the 33rd over However there werent any more partnerships of note as they were allout for 183 in little under 50 overs