It has been a Test of patience for both skippers so far. For Sri Lanka, to get the Indian heavyweights out and for India, to deal with the tantrums of the away side. The unrelenting Lankans forced India to declare their first innings at 536 for seven as the drama unfolded in the post-lunch session during which play was halted for 26 minutes due to pollution concerns. The visiting batsmen had no complaints about air quality when they came out to bat after India's declaration. The story of this game has been no different than the previous Tests of the series. Ruthless demolition of the Lankan bowlers and India's star batsmen making a mockery of the opposition attack. (Live Scorecard)
A fired-up Indian attack reduced them to 131 for three at stumps and they were still trailing by a massive 405-run margin. It could have been worse had Kohli not dropped Angelo Mathews' regulation catch at second slip. Ishant Sharma (1/44), Mohammed Shami (1/30) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/24) shared the spoils as the visiting batsmen continued to struggle in negotiating the Indian attack. Mathews (57 batting) and Chandimal (25 batting) added 56 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket stand. The pitch is still batting friendly and this is Sri Lanka's best chance to bat big. Will they be able to cope with the strong Indian bowling attack? It will be interesting to see on Day 3 of the third Test.
Catch the live action and updates of India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Day 3, straight from Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
9:49 IST: Sri Lanka 141 for 3.
9:42 IST: Pace from both ends now, Mohammed Shami into the attack. Mathews whips the ball off his pads to score the first boundary of the day.
9:38 IST: Ishant Sharma bowls the second over of the day. Good, tidy start from him.
9:30 IST: Jadeja to start the proceedings for India. He had to complete his over from Day 2.
9:27 IST: The Indian bowlers will want to see the back of Angelo Mathews as soon as possible this morning.
9:24 IST: Hello and welcome to our live cricket blog for Day 3 of the final Test between India and Sri Lanka.
It appeared to be another day of dominance for the Indian team with their skipper breaking many a records but the antics of the visitors spoiled Kohli's party. With their below-par bowling being sent on a leatherhunt, Sri Lankan team seemed to disturb the rhythm of the Indian batsmen by halting the play which was evidently not appreciated by the hosts. It is not the first time that an Indian team had to declare their innings due to compulsion though 40 years back, circumstances were vastly different. In 1976 at Kingston (Jamaica), Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel's 'beamer ball tactic' had left the Indian top-order injured. India were 87 for 5 in their second innings, leading by only 12 runs when skipper Bishan Singh Bedi had to declare the innings fearing that Holding would injure his tail-enders.
