Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne overcame intense back pain to put his team in a strong position in the second Test against Pakistan in Galle on Tuesday.
The hosts reached 176-5 when early stumps was called due to bad weather, extending their lead to 323 on day three of the Test after dismissing the visitors for 231 earlier with Ramesh Mendis picking up five wickets.
Even though Pakistan bowlers picked up wickets at regular intervals, an unbroken 59-run stand for the sixth wicket between Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva saw Sri Lanka’s lead exceed 300.
However, Sri Lanka will still not be breathing easy as Pakistan had chased down 342 to win the first Test, also at Galle. Karunaratne has been struggling with back spasms during this Test and only came out to bat after the fall of the fourth wicket.