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Tezzbuzz Desk- Team India has maintained a strong hold so far in the first Test being played between India and Sri Lanka in Galle, but a small mistake on the field on the third day caused a big loss to the Indian team. A lease of life from KL Rahul proved to be a boon for Sri Lankan batsman Niroshan Dickwella. After this, Dickwella and Sonal Dinusha made a partnership which took Sri Lanka out of the danger of follow-on.

By the end of the third day's play, India had a lead of 178 runs over Sri Lanka in the first innings. The Indian team had a great opportunity to bowl out the hosts for less than 200. If this had happened then there could have been pressure on Sri Lanka to follow on. However, the whole equation changed after a missed catch. Actually, Indian spinner Manav Suthar was bowling the 36th over of Sri Lanka's innings. He troubled Niroshan Dickwella with a flighted ball and the ball took the outside edge of his bat and went rapidly towards KL Rahul standing in the slip. Rahul tried his best to catch the catch by diving to the right, but the ball slipped out of his hands. At that time Dickwella was batting on just 20 runs.

This mistake of Rahul appeared more serious when Sri Lanka's score was five wickets for 90 runs. Many key batsmen of the host team had returned to the pavilion. Udara scored 27 runs, Dinesh Chandimal scored 4 runs, Kamindu Mendis scored 14 runs and captain Dhananjay de Silva scored 21 runs. It seemed that the Indian bowlers would soon wrap up the Sri Lankan innings. But after this lifeline given to Dickwella, the story completely changed. Along with Sonal Dinusha, he bravely faced the Indian bowlers. Both of them made a brilliant partnership of 146 runs for the sixth wicket. Dickwella took full advantage of the opportunity and scored 80 runs in 115 balls. Whereas Dinusha remained at the crease for about four and a half hours and scored a brilliant century.

Thanks to this partnership, Sri Lanka scored 284 runs in its first innings. The most important thing was that the team crossed the required mark of 263 runs to avoid follow-on. That means India missed the opportunity to force Sri Lanka to bat again. Young spinner Manav Suthar was the most successful bowler from India's side. He took four wickets in his name, while experienced all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets. Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav got one success each. Jadeja also completed his 350 wickets in Test cricket in this match.

However, after restricting Sri Lanka to 284 runs, India is still in a strong position with a lead of 178 runs. Due to rain, the third day's play also had to be ended prematurely. Now on the fourth day, the Indian team would like to increase the pressure on Sri Lanka by making a big score in its second innings. Still, Dickwella's catch remains a topic of discussion for the Indian team. In Test cricket, one catch can sometimes change the direction of the entire match and this chance missed by Rahul in the ball became a big example of this. The way Sri Lanka came back from a difficult situation has also raised questions on the fielding of the Indian team.