India (249 & 161/5) lead Sri Lanka (396) by 14 runs at stumps, day 3 Sri Lanka tightened the screw on injury-hit India with a superb all-round performance on the third day of the crucial third and final Test here on Sunday. The hosts were indebted to debutant fast bowler Dammika Prasad and Kumar Sangakkara for boosting their hopes of clinching the series as India struggled to 161-5 in their second innings at stumps. That meant India were just 14 runs ahead with five wickets in hand. Rahul Dravid was unbeaten on 46 and Venkatsai Laxman on 17 not out. The series is tied at 1-1, with Sri Lanka winning the opening Test by an innings and 239 runs and India posting a 170-run victory in the second match. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 396 in the afternoon in reply to India’s modest first-innings total of 249, with the left-handed Sangakkara making a solid 144 for his 17th Test century. Unorthodox Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis (2-39) broke Englishman Alec Bedser’s record of 24 wickets in a three-Test debut series. Mendis has bagged 25 wickets in the ongoing series. ‘It is a phenomenal achievement. He (Mendis) came in when Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) needed support and he rose to the occasion well. He has gone beyond our expectations and the important thing for him is to keep learning,’ said Sangakkara. ‘I am very happy to get a hundred. It was one of the most difficult hundreds to get. We now want to keep them (India) well below the 100-mark when we go out there tomorrow.’ Prasad ended India’s early flourish when he dismissed stroke-happy openers Virender Sehwag (34) and Gautam Gambhir (26) in successive overs. Sehwag was caught by Thilan Samaraweera at gully, while Gambhir inside-edged a delivery onto his stumps while attempting to pull. The pair added 62 off just 10.4 overs. India were without Ishant Sharma in the morning as the fast bowler was unfit to bowl after falling during his follow-through in Saturday’s last session. Injuries to Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman forced under-pressure India to change their batting order. Tendulkar batted down the order after suffering an elbow injury on Saturday and Laxman made his appearance with a runner (Gambhir) after twisting his ankle during practice before the second day’s play. ‘It’s disappointing that we have not performed as a batting unit. These are the guys who have won games for India. It’s just a matter of not clicking. I don’t know how it happened,’ said Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. ‘It’s a good wicket to bat on and I hope we bat well tomorrow. We are looking forward to a good partnership in the morning.’ Sourav Ganguly (18) batted ahead of Tendulkar, but did not last long as he was adjudged leg-before off spinner Muttiah Muralitharan by umpire Mark Benson of England. The batsman requested the official to review his decision under a new experimental rule which is on trial in the ongoing series. The rule allows a batsman or fielding captain to request a review of any decision by referring it to the third official monitoring television replays. Benson’s initial decision turned out to be correct when he consulted TV umpire Billy Doctrove of the West Indies. Tendulkar (14) also fell in a similar manner, off Mendis, to remain without a half-century in the series, like Ganguly. The match was evenly poised overnight but Sri Lanka gained the upper hand in the morning when they added 101 to their overnight total of 251-6 for the loss of just one wicket. Sangakkara, 107 not out overnight, added 80 for the seventh wicket with Prasanna Jayawardene (49) against a depleted Indian attack. He hit 14 fours in his 288-ball knock before being caught behind. India’s hopes of fighting back rested on early wickets, but their bowling options were limited in the absence of Sharma. The tourists struggled even against lower-order batsmen Jayawardene and Prasad (36), who batted defiantly to extend their team’s lead. India’s fielding also left a lot to be desired as extra runs were given away and a couple of run-out chances missed
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