Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 2nd Test Day 3: Mendis' six-for brings hosts back in hunt

Ramesh Mendis' returned excellent figures of 6-70 to help Sri Lanka restrict West Indies to 253 before they closed Day 3 of the second Test on 46/2 in the second innings. They have a deficit of three runs now.

West Indies resumed the day on 69/1. Kraigg Brathwaite and Nkrumah Bonner (35) got them off to a decent start, adding 75 for the second wicket before Mendis trapped Bonner leg before. Brathwaite struck nine fours in his 72 before being cleaned up by Lasith Embuldeniya.

That triggered a collapse. Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Joshua Da Silva all fell cheaply as West Indies slipped from 166/2 to 208/8. Mendis was ably supported by Embuldeniya (2-94) and Praveen Jayawickrama (2-59) during this period. Shai Hope (22 in 89 balls), Kyle Mayers (36*) and Veerasammy Permaul (15) put up some resistance to help West Indies gain a 49-run first-innings lead before they were bowled out for 253.

Coming to bat in the second innings, Sri Lanka endured a major setback early. They lost Dimuth Karunaratne to Mayers's fielding. Oshada Fernando did not last long either, courtesy a miscommunication between him and Pathum Nissanka (21*), leading to another run out. Charith Asalanka and Nissanka then batted through the final 6.3 overs to ensure no further damage was done.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 204 (Pathum Nissanka 73; Veerasammy Permaul 5-35, Jomel Warrican 4-50) and 46/2 (Pathum Nissanka 21*) lead West Indies 253 (Kraigg Brathwaite 72; Ramesh Mendis 6-70) by 3 runs.