Sonal Dinusha struck centuries in both innings as Sri Lanka fought hard to draw the second Test against India at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Thursday.
India declared on 503 for nine after Dhruv Jurel made an unbeaten 115 and Devdutt Padikkal scored 117. Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 290, leaving India with a sizeable advantage.
Following on, Sri Lanka showed greater resistance. Dinusha remained unbeaten on 133 after making 103 in the first innings, while Pasindu Sooriyabandara scored 92 and Kamindu Mendis made 55.
Sri Lanka finished on 429 for nine after 154 overs, with Dinusha and Asitha Fernando at the crease when play ended.
India’s bowlers had earlier reduced Sri Lanka to 290, with Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain sharing eight wickets. Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja then took three wickets each in the second innings.
Dinusha’s two centuries proved the tip of the iceberg in a determined Sri Lankan recovery. His long stay at the crease helped Sri Lanka avoid defeat after India had enforced the follow-on.
The result gave India a 1-0 victory in the two-match Test series.
