Despite a spectacular five-wicket haul from Mohammad Nawaz here on Monday, Dinesh Chandimal (86 not out) assisted Sri Lanka in increasing their advantage to 333 at the end of day three of the first Test.
Early on Day 3, Kasun Rajitha was dismissed for Sri Lanka, and Mohammad Nawaz claimed his second wicket of the innings. As the Sri Lankan hitters stabilised their innings, Pakistan was unable to capitalise on their advantage. Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando made a strong team to move Sri Lanka forward. The more aggressive of the two, Fernando made some excellent strokes. Kusal, who stood up for him, gave him substantial assistance.
Fernando survived a few nearly fatal lbw calls and brought up a patient fifty. The 91-run partnership was eventually broken on the second ball after lunch, but not before the pair had increased Sri Lanka's advantage to 136.
Yasir Shah's first victim of the innings was Fernando, and as Sri Lanka's innings developed, he showed no signs of slowing down. Mohammad Nawaz, who was bowling with maturity and quickly got rid of the seasoned Angelo Mathews, was a good foil for him. Yasir's excellent leg-spin delivery that brushed Kusal Mendis' off-stump ended his tenacious 76-ball innings.
Yasir ended Dhananjaya de Silva's 20-ball 20-run performance by taking his third wicket of the game with yet another stunning catch. Nawaz and Yasir tightened the screws on the remainder of the line-up while Dinesh Chandimal held one end. The second session saw up to five wickets fall, as Sri Lanka entered tea on 257/7. And shortly after the break, Ramesh Mendis was eliminated by Nawaz, giving him his first five-wicket haul in a Test match.
With a lead of almost 250 and eight wickets down, Sri Lanka needed someone to help them to a higher total. And Dinesh Chandimal accepted the position without fanfare. He had previously established helpful relationships with the lower middle class and kept doing so as he approached his 50th year.
He and Maheesh Theekshana (11 runs from 57 balls) added 41 runs to the ninth-wicket stand and another unbroken 21-run partnership with Prabath Jayasuriya (4 not out) added 21 runs to the last wicket to increase Sri Lanka's lead to 333. Early stumps were called in Galle because to poor lighting, with Sri Lanka at 329/9 and Chandimal still going strong at 86 not out.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 218 (Babar Azam 119; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-82) trails Sri Lanka 222 and 329/9 (Dinesh Chandimal 86*, Kusal Mendis 76; Mohammad Nawaz 5-88) by 333 runs.