Sri Lanka crawled back despite losing two more wickets to reach 151/4 at tea on the opening day of the second cricket Test against India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here on Friday.
Skipper Dinesh Chandimal (47 not out) led the fightback for the tourists after pacer Ishant Sharma removed in-form opener Dimuth Karunaratne (51 from 147 balls; 4x6) while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja packed Angelo Mathews (10) cheaply.
Resuming the second session at 47/2, Sri Lanka lost Matthews immediately after an arm-ball from Jadeja beat the inside edge and struck him around the knees.
The former skipper's dismissal brought in Chandimal, who completed his 3,000 Test runs on his individual score of 24 when he drove Umesh Yadav for a boundary at mid-off.
Chandimal continued to steady the ship, taking Sri Lanka past the three figure mark in the company of Karunaratne, who by now had neared his 14th Test half century.
Karunaratne got to his 50, tapping Ishant for a single, before being trapped in front by the same bowler three overs later, to end the 62-run third wicket partnership.
Karunaratne's dismissal brought in the dashing wicket-keeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella (18 not out), who till tea had added 29 runs with the skipper.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 151/4 (Dimukh Karunaratne 51, Dinesh Chandimal 47 not out, Niroshan Dickwella 18 not out; Ishant Sharma 2/33).
--IANS
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