<p>Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews hit half-centuries to give Sri Lanka the advantage against India on day three of the rain-hit opening Test on Saturday.<br /><br />The visitors were 165-4 in their first innings when bad light ended a dramatic day at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. They trail India by seven runs with skipper Dinesh Chandimal not out on 13 and Niroshan Dickwella on 14.<br /><br />Indian paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav claimed two wickets each on a day when almost three full sessions were played. Only 31.5 overs were bowled on the first two days because of rain and bad light.<br /><br />The islanders depended on a 99-run third wicket stand between Thirimanne, who made 51, and Mathews, who scored 52, after losing their openers early.<br /><br />The left-right batting combination of Thirimanne and Mathews mixed caution and aggression against a persistent Indian pace attack.<br /><br />Thirimanne, who was dropped on 27, registered his fifth Test fifty but soon edged a moving delivery by Yadav, and skipper Virat Kohli made no mistake at second slip.<br /><br />Yadav struck again in his next over to send Mathews, making a 50 in an impressive comeback from injury, back to the pavilion after giving away a simple catch to Lokesh Rahul at short cover.<br /><br />Kumar struck early to remove openers Dimuth Karunaratne, for eight, and Sadeera Samarawickrama, for 23, as the visitors slipped to 34-2 before bouncing back.<br /><br />In the morning session, a late-order push by Indian batsmen saw the hosts post 172, a score that looked unlikely at 128-8.<br /><br />After overnight batsman Cheteshwar Pujara fell early on 52, vital contributions from Wriddhiman Saha (29), Ravindra Jadeja (22) and 24 from number-10 Mohammed Shami frustrated the Sri Lankan bowling.<br /><br />Shami limped off during the Sri Lankan innings five balls into an over which he could not finish.<br /><br />Pace spearhead Suranga Lakmal finished with figures of 4-26 after taking three wickets on day one to justify the visitors' decision to field first.<br /><br />Sri Lanka, despite being underdogs against the top-ranked hosts, are eyeing their first Test win on Indian soil during the three-match series.<br /></p>
<p>Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews hit half-centuries to give Sri Lanka the advantage against India on day three of the rain-hit opening Test on Saturday.<br /><br />The visitors were 165-4 in their first innings when bad light ended a dramatic day at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. They trail India by seven runs with skipper Dinesh Chandimal not out on 13 and Niroshan Dickwella on 14.<br /><br />Indian paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav claimed two wickets each on a day when almost three full sessions were played. Only 31.5 overs were bowled on the first two days because of rain and bad light.<br /><br />The islanders depended on a 99-run third wicket stand between Thirimanne, who made 51, and Mathews, who scored 52, after losing their openers early.<br /><br />The left-right batting combination of Thirimanne and Mathews mixed caution and aggression against a persistent Indian pace attack.<br /><br />Thirimanne, who was dropped on 27, registered his fifth Test fifty but soon edged a moving delivery by Yadav, and skipper Virat Kohli made no mistake at second slip.<br /><br />Yadav struck again in his next over to send Mathews, making a 50 in an impressive comeback from injury, back to the pavilion after giving away a simple catch to Lokesh Rahul at short cover.<br /><br />Kumar struck early to remove openers Dimuth Karunaratne, for eight, and Sadeera Samarawickrama, for 23, as the visitors slipped to 34-2 before bouncing back.<br /><br />In the morning session, a late-order push by Indian batsmen saw the hosts post 172, a score that looked unlikely at 128-8.<br /><br />After overnight batsman Cheteshwar Pujara fell early on 52, vital contributions from Wriddhiman Saha (29), Ravindra Jadeja (22) and 24 from number-10 Mohammed Shami frustrated the Sri Lankan bowling.<br /><br />Shami limped off during the Sri Lankan innings five balls into an over which he could not finish.<br /><br />Pace spearhead Suranga Lakmal finished with figures of 4-26 after taking three wickets on day one to justify the visitors' decision to field first.<br /><br />Sri Lanka, despite being underdogs against the top-ranked hosts, are eyeing their first Test win on Indian soil during the three-match series.<br /></p>