COLOMBO — Sri Lanka need 39 runs to avoid being asked to bat again, and they have two wickets left to get them. That is the whole of the fourth morning at the Sinhalese Sports Club, and it rests almost entirely on a batter who had never been the story of this series until Tuesday evening.Sonal Dinusha was 85 not out at stumps, 137 balls into an innings that has kept Sri Lanka in a Test they have been behind in since the first session. At the other end Lahiru Kumara had faced 50 deliveries for eight runs. Between them they need to add 39 to take Sri Lanka past 303 and out of follow-on range.This report reflects the position at stumps on day three, and was last updated at 03:30 IST on 26 August 2026. Play resumes at 10:00 local time. India lead the two-match series 1-0 after winning at Galle by 165 runs, so a win or a draw here takes the series.
India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, day 3 stumps · Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo
Detail
Status
Match
2nd Test, India tour of Sri Lanka 2026, 23 to 27 August
Venue
Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo
Toss
India won the toss and elected to bat
India, 1st innings
503/9 declared (138 overs, run rate 3.64)
Sri Lanka, 1st innings
265/8 (83.4 overs, run rate 3.17)
Current position
Sri Lanka trail by 238 runs with 2 wickets standing
To avoid the follow-on
39 more runs, taking Sri Lanka to 304
Unbeaten
Sonal Dinusha 85 not out, Lahiru Kumara 8 not out
Series
India lead 1-0 in the two-match series
Figures are the completed record at stumps on day three. The match is still in progress and this page will be updated when day four ends.
India vs Sri Lanka scorecard: two centuries built the 503
India batted for 138 overs and declared on 503 for 9, and the innings was made by two hundreds that arrived from opposite ends of the order. Devdutt Padikkal made 117 from 193 balls at number three, following the 167 he scored at Galle. Dhruv Jurel finished unbeaten on 115 from 177 at number seven, and was still there when Shubman Gill called the innings in.The middle of the card did the unglamorous work. Gill made exactly 50 from 108, Rishabh Pant 63 from 89 on the ground where he passed MS Dhoni as India’s leading wicketkeeper run-scorer in away Tests, and Ravindra Jadeja 43. India were 307 for 6 at one stage and added 196 more for the last three wickets.
India 1st innings, 503/9 declared · Source: official match scorecard
Batter
Dismissal
R
B
4s
6s
S/R
Yashasvi Jaiswal
b Asitha Fernando
45
53
9
0
84.91
KL Rahul
c Niroshan Dickwella b Lahiru Kumara
18
33
2
1
54.55
Devdutt Padikkal
b Keshara Nuwantha
117
193
12
0
60.62
Shubman Gill (c)
c Niroshan Dickwella b Asitha Fernando
50
108
6
0
46.30
Rishabh Pant (wk)
c Lahiru Udara b Keshara Nuwantha
63
89
6
2
70.79
Ravindra Jadeja
b Asitha Fernando
43
83
4
0
51.81
Dhruv Jurel
not out
115
177
9
2
64.97
Saransh Jain
c Kamil Mishara b Asitha Fernando
6
8
1
0
75.00
Manav Suthar
c Niroshan Dickwella b Prabath Jayasuriya
18
51
2
0
35.29
Mohammed Siraj
lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya
3
29
0
0
10.34
Prasidh Krishna
not out
4
7
1
0
57.14
Extras 21 (b 8, lb 3, w 7, nb 3). The eleven batters contributed 482 and extras 21, which sums to the declared total of 503.
Asitha Fernando was the one Sri Lankan bowler who consistently threatened, taking 4 for 106 from 29 overs. Prabath Jayasuriya sent down 42 overs for 132 and two wickets, and Keshara Nuwantha conceded 154, the most expensive figures of the innings, for the two wickets that removed both centurions’ partners.
Sri Lanka’s reply, and the stand that changed the day
Sri Lanka were 8 for 2 inside three overs and had slipped to 173 for 7. That they are within 39 runs of safety at all is down to what happened after the seventh wicket fell. Pasindu Sooriyabandara had already made 80 from 133 balls before Jadeja bowled him to end a century bid, and Dinusha then added 57 with Keshara Nuwantha and has since farmed the strike with Kumara.
Sri Lanka 1st innings, 265/8 at stumps on day 3 · Source: official match scorecard
Batter
Dismissal
R
B
4s
6s
S/R
Lahiru Udara
c Yashasvi Jaiswal b Prasidh Krishna
1
6
0
0
16.67
Kamil Mishara
c Dhruv Jurel b Prasidh Krishna
19
25
3
0
76.00
Prabath Jayasuriya
lbw b Manav Suthar
2
7
0
0
28.57
Pasindu Sooriyabandara
b Ravindra Jadeja
80
133
9
0
60.15
Kamindu Mendis
c Ravindra Jadeja b Prasidh Krishna
32
58
3
1
55.17
Dhananjaya de Silva (c)
c KL Rahul b Manav Suthar
8
14
2
0
57.14
Sonal Dinusha
not out
85
137
6
2
62.04
Niroshan Dickwella (wk)
c Dhruv Jurel b Mohammed Siraj
0
3
0
0
0.00
Keshara Nuwantha
c Saransh Jain b Manav Suthar
18
74
2
1
24.32
Lahiru Kumara
not out
8
50
1
0
16.00
Asitha Fernando
yet to bat
Extras 12 (lb 6, w 1, nb 5). The ten batters who have batted contributed 253 and extras 12, which sums to 265.
India bowling, Sri Lanka 1st innings · 83.4 overs at stumps on day 3
Bowler
O
M
R
W
Econ
Mohammed Siraj
11
0
33
1
3.00
Prasidh Krishna
14
1
47
3
3.40
Manav Suthar
21
1
83
3
4.00
Saransh Jain
18
5
51
0
2.80
Ravindra Jadeja
19.4
4
45
1
2.28
Prasidh Krishna and Manav Suthar have three each. Suthar took ten wickets in the first Test at Galle.
The follow-on equation on day four
India declared on 503, so the follow-on threshold is 303. Sri Lanka are on 265. Reach 304 and the deficit drops to 199, which puts the follow-on out of Gill’s hands entirely. Fall short and India can send them back in with two full days left.Whether India would enforce it is a separate question, and not one the arithmetic answers. Their four frontline bowlers have already sent down 83.4 overs in humid conditions and Jadeja alone has bowled 19.4. Captains have increasingly declined the follow-on in Asian conditions to bat again and set a target instead. Gill has not indicated either way.
India vs Sri Lanka playing XI
The elevens as they appear on the match scorecard are below. Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando is the one player yet to bat in the match.
Playing XI, 2nd Test at Colombo
India
Sri Lanka
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Lahiru Udara
KL Rahul
Kamil Mishara
Devdutt Padikkal
Pasindu Sooriyabandara
Shubman Gill (captain)
Kamindu Mendis
Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
Dhananjaya de Silva (captain)
Ravindra Jadeja
Sonal Dinusha
Dhruv Jurel
Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper)
Saransh Jain
Keshara Nuwantha
Manav Suthar
Prabath Jayasuriya
Mohammed Siraj
Lahiru Kumara
Prasidh Krishna
Asitha Fernando
Prabath Jayasuriya batted at number three in Sri Lanka’s innings as nightwatchman rather than in his listed position. Sri Lanka Cricket publishes squad and team announcements for the series.
What this report does not know
Two things. The first is the weather, which has already cost time in this match and which no forecast settles: an interrupted fourth day changes the follow-on calculation completely, because India would need to weigh overs lost against a bowling attack that has been in the field for most of two days.The second is Sri Lanka’s intent. Dinusha has scored at 62 per hundred balls and Kumara at 16, which is a partnership being played for survival rather than for the 39 runs. If Sri Lanka are batting to avoid the follow-on they will have to take some risk to get there, and it is not obvious from three days of evidence which of those two aims they will choose. The result also carries World Test Championship points in the 2025 to 2027 cycle, which raises the cost of a defeat for both sides.
India vs Sri Lanka: frequently asked questions
What is the India vs Sri Lanka live score in the 2nd Test?
At stumps on day three, India 503 for 9 declared and Sri Lanka 265 for 8, a deficit of 238 runs with two wickets standing. Sonal Dinusha is 85 not out and Lahiru Kumara 8 not out. Play resumes at 10:00 local time on day four, 26 August 2026.
Who won the toss in the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test?
India won the toss at the Sinhalese Sports Club and elected to bat. They made 503 for 9 before declaring on day two.
