India reduce Sri Lanka to 99-5 at lunch on day three of Galle Test

India tightened their grip on the first Test in Galle on Monday, reducing Sri Lanka to 99 for 5 at lunch on day three. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar led the attack with two wickets, while Mohammad Siraj struck early to remove opener Nishan Madushka for a duck. Sri Lanka are still 363 runs behind India's first-innings total of 462.

Sportstar reported that India captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bat. The Hindu noted that Suthar generated "lovely flight, dip and turn" to trouble the batters, dismissing Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Udara. Ravindra Jadeja also scalped Sri Lankan skipper Dhananjaya de Silva for 21, caught by KL Rahul at slip.

Kamindu Mendis counter-attacked briefly, hitting Prasidh Krishna for a six, but was dismissed by Kuldeep Yadav. At the break, Sonal Dinusha (14) and Niroshan Dickwella (8) were at the crease. The pitch is still good for batting, said The Hindu, despite the turn and bounce extracted by India's bowlers.