Kotla Test: De Silva's injury boosts India's chances

New Delhi [India], December 6 (ANI): Dhananjaya de Silva put India's victory on hold as he smashed a gritty century to reduce his side's target to just 184 runs at tea of the fifth day of the third and the final Test at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here on Wednesday.

Resuming at yesterday's score of 31-3, de Silva tested Indian bowlers as he produced a calm and composed performance to notch a 119-run knock, including 15 boundaries and one six to bring the visitors back on track.

Meanwhile, skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who smashed a 164-run knock in Lanka's first innings, failed to replicate the similar performance and was dismissed cheaply for 36 runs.

After losing senior batsman Angelo Mathews (duck) early, de Silva stepped up his game as he played comfortable against spin, but struggled against the pacers to secure his third Test century.

However, just prior to the tea, Lanka's hopes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat suffered a major blow after de Silva walked off the field after injuring his thigh.

The Indian bowlers had to work really hard in both the session of the fifth day, but they only managed to pull off just two wickets in two session.

Ravindra Jadeja, who bagged two wickets on Day Two, added one more wicket in his account while Ravichandran Ashwin also chipped in with a wicket.

Earlier, Indian bowlers reduced Sri Lanka to 31-3 after setting a huge target of 410 runs on the fourth day of the series-deciding Test.

At the time of filing of this report, Sri Lanka were at 242-5, with Roshen Silva (unbeaten at 40) and Niroshan Dickwella (unbeaten at 21) batting at the crease.(ANI)