A gritty century from Kaushal Silva yesterday gave Sri Lanka a commanding 288-run second-innings lead, dimming Australia’s hopes of a consolation win in the third and final Test in Colombo.
Sri Lanka, who are pushing for a series whitewash after winning the first two Tests, were 312-8 at stumps on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
First-innings centurion Dhananjaya de Silva was unbeaten on 44, with Suranga Lakmal yet to get off the mark at the close of play.
Photo: AFP
The day belonged to Silva, who batted with six stitches on the webbing of his little finger after injuring himself while fielding on Monday to make a composed 115.
The 30-year-old, mixing dogged defense and controlled aggression, put together a crucial 90-run partnership with first-innings centurion Dinesh Chandimal to thwart the Australia attack.
Silva, who regularly received treatment for his injured left finger during breaks, reached his century with a boundary off Adam Voges, bursting into celebration.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who claimed four wickets, trapped Chandimal LBW for 43 in the final session to break the stand.
Silva fell to the left-arm spin of Jon Holland in the 87th over.
Australia made further inroads into the Sri Lanka lineup late in the day, but De Silva ensured that the hosts maintained their domination of the match heading into day five.
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