Galle, June 19 (IANS) With partnerships anchoring their reply, the hosts Sri Lanka finished the day just 127 runs behind, firmly placing themselves in control of the match after Bangladesh posted a formidable first-innings total of 495 at the end of Day 3 at Galle International Ground here on Thursday.

Pathum Nissanka led the charge with a majestic 187 – his highest score in Tests and his first century on home soil – as Sri Lanka ended the day at 368/4 in 92 overs.

Nissanka’s innings was a model of composure and aggression, spanning 256 balls and filled with authoritative strokeplay. From the very first over, he looked assured, dominating the Bangladesh attack across both new balls.

His knock laid the foundation for a series of partnerships that steadily chipped away at the deficit: 47 with debutant Lahiru Udara, 157 with Dinesh Chandimal, 89 with Angelo Mathews, and 38 with Kamindu Mendis.

The only moment of relief for Bangladesh came late in the day when the second new ball, aided by some reverse swing and a wobble seam, breached Nissanka’s defences. Hasan Mahmud bowled a sharp in-ducker that slipped between bat and pad to dismiss the Sri Lankan opener, potentially preventing a maiden Test double hundred.

Before that, Sri Lanka had made batting look easy, especially when compared to Bangladesh’s more cautious approach over the first two days. While the visitors scored at just over three an over, the hosts maintained a brisk scoring rate of around four, putting Bangladesh’s bowlers under constant pressure.

Chandimal, who continued his love affair with the Galle surface, added a composed 54 before falling to a well-executed leg-slip trap by Nayeem Hasan. Mathews looked solid before Mominul Haque, introduced briefly, produced a delivery that turned and found the edge. Udara, too, impressed on debut with a fluent 29 before falling to a leading edge caught and bowled by Taijul Islam.

By stumps, Dhananjaya de Silva (17*) and Kamindu Mendis (37*) were looking comfortable at the crease, having already added an unbeaten 37 off 45 balls. Their fluent partnership kept the pressure on Bangladesh and underlined Sri Lanka’s aggressive intent.

The Bangladesh bowling attack, meanwhile, struggled for consistency. While four bowlers—Mahmud, Taijul, Nayeem, and Mominul—picked up a wicket each, three of the five used went for over four runs an over, indicating their inability to keep the batters in check for long periods.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh were wrapped up for 495 in under 15 minutes, with Asitha Fernando picking up the final wicket and finishing with figures of 4 for 86.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 495 all out in 153.4 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 163, Najmul Hossain Shanto 148; Asitha Fernando 4/86, Milan Rathnayake 3-39) lead Sri Lanka 368/4 in 93 overs (Pathum Nissanka 187, Dinesh Chandimal 54; Monimul Haque 1/24, Hasan Mahmud 1/49) by 127 runs.

–IANS

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