Sonal Dinusha Becomes Second Sri Lankan to Score 50-Plus in First Three Test Innings vs India

Sonal Dinusha continued his remarkable start to Test cricket against India, following up an unbeaten 84 in the second Test at Colombo with a fighting unbeaten 85 as Sri Lanka fought to save the follow-on. The knock made him just the second Sri Lankan batter in history, after Duleep Mendis, to record a fifty-plus score in each of his first three Test innings against India.

Dinusha's series against India has been a story of consistent defiance in a tour otherwise dominated by the visitors. He began with a maiden Test century, 100 off 168 balls, in the first innings at Galle, followed that with 84 in the second innings of the same match, and has now added an unbeaten 85 in Colombo, walking in with Sri Lanka reeling at 137 for 5 against India's mammoth first-innings total of 503 for 9 declared.

The left-hander showed patience and composure throughout his latest innings, using the sweep effectively against India's spinners while finding support from the tail. He shared a 57-run eighth-wicket stand with Keshara Nuwantha before adding a further 35 with Lahiru Kumara, ultimately helping Sri Lanka reach 265 for 8 at the close of day three, still 238 runs behind, before rain and fading light forced an early end to play.

India's bowlers, led by Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar with three wickets apiece, continued to squeeze the innings throughout the day, but found Dinusha impossible to shift. With Sri Lanka needing to bat out the remainder of the match to avoid the follow-on and salvage something from the Test, the young all-rounder's growing reputation as India's chief tormentor on this tour continues to build.