Twitter Reactions: Sri Lanka’s top order fires as they extend lead before rest day on Day 3

Sri Lanka and New Zealand. (Source – Getty Images)

On Day 3 of the first Test, New Zealand managed to muster a 35-run lead and Sri Lanka could not contain Glenn Phillip (48 off 44) in time. The hosts lost Pathum Nissanka (2) early when they came out to bat for the second time. Dimuth Karunarathne (83 off 127) and Dinesh Chandimal (61 off 150) stitched an important 147-run stand for the second wicket. The duo were outdone within a span of eight deliveries and the pitch started to wear out. 

Angelo Matthews (34* off 72)) and Kamindu Mendis (13) started building the partnership but the latter holed out to Daryl Mitchell playing a loose drive. Dhananjaya de Silva (34* off 64) assisted Matthews well in the building and saw through some intense pace at the end of the day. Sri Lanka ended Day 3 with 237 runs for the loss of four wickets. They will aim to add to the 202-run lead they have against their name on Day 4 of the first Test of the series. 

Notably, tomorrow (September 21) will be a ‘rest day‘ and no cricket will be played at the Galle Stadium due to the presidential elections in Sri Lanka. Hence, Day 4 will commence on September 22, and the subsequent day will be the last day of the Test.

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For New Zealand, youngster William O’Rourke dazzled with three wickets adding to his first innings exploits, where he picked a fifer. The other wicket came at the end of spinner, Ajaz Patel as he cleaned up Karunaratne to break the crucial partnership. The final session could not exhaust the allotted overs due to bad light and it accounted for 103 runs and three wickets. 

Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to Day 3 of SL vs NZ first Test: