Gritty Silva ton dims Aussie hopes of a win

A gritty century from Kaushal Silva gave Sri Lanka a commanding 288-run second innings lead yesterday, dimming Australia’s hopes of a consolation win in the third and final Test in Colombo. Sri Lanka, who are pushing for a rare series whitewash after winning the first two Tests, were 312 for eight at stumps on the fourth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club. First innings centurion Dhananjaya de Silva was unbeaten on 44 with Suranga Lakmal yet to get off the mark at close of play.  But the day belonged to Silva, who batted with six stitches on the webbing of his little finger after injuring himself while fielding on Monday to make a composed 115. The 30-year-old, mixing dogged defence and controlled aggression, put together a crucial 90-run partnership with first innings centurion Dinesh Chandimal to thwart the Australian attack. Silva, who regularly received treatment for his injured left finger during breaks, reached his century with a boundary off Adam Voges as he burst into a celebration. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon, who claimed four wickets, trapped Chandimal lbw for 43 in the final session to break the stand. Silva, who survived an lbw appeal against Lyon after a successful umpire review in the first session, finally fell to the left-arm spin of Jon Holland in the 87th over. Australia made further inroads into the Sri Lankan line-up late in the day, but de Silva ensured that the hosts maintained their domination of the match heading into the final day. Earlier, Australia benefited from a review after Holland had Kusal Perera caught off a top edge which took the pads and went into the gloves of the wicketkeeper. Perera, who scored 24, was undone by a side angle replay after a front-on view had been inconclusive and the third umpire overturned the decision. Kusal Mendis hit a quickfire 18 off 14 balls with two sixes and a four. But his counter-attack was halted when he was trapped lbw by Mitchell Starc, who has taken two wickets. Sri Lanka, who resumed on 22 for one, quickly scored two runs to erase the 24-run first innings deficit. Centuries from skipper Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh had given Australia hope of a big first-innings lead on Monday, but their departure saw the visitors lose their last seven wickets for 104 runs. Veteran spinner Rangana Herath led the Sri Lankan attack, snaring six wickets, with Australia all out for 379 in response to Sri Lanka’s 355. Sri Lanka now have the chance to register their first whitewash against a major team since gaining Test status in 1981. Centurion Silva later said his side was determined not to let Australia off the hook. “If we have a really good target like 350 or more then we put them out of the game, so that’s what we need to do,” he said. Silva regularly received treatment for his injured left finger during breaks. “It was tough initially, because I had a split webbing also,” he said. “But I think that in a way helped me because I knew it wasn’t easy for me to drive the ball. So I thought, let’s focus on the balls that are coming into me and leave the away-going deliveries.”  Australian wicketkeeper Peter Nevill praised the Sri Lankan batsmen for their ability to play spin on turning tracks. “Our spinners have done their best to adapt, but I suppose their batsmen have played spin exceptionally well and made it very hard for a spinner to settle,” he said. “They swept well, they used their feet well, so a lot of credit should go to their batsmen.”ScoreboardSri Lanka (1st innings)    355Australia (1st innings) 379Sri Lanka (2nd innings; overnight 22-1)D Perera lbw Starc     8D Karunaratne st Nevill b Lyon     22K Silva c Smith b Holland     115K Perera c Nevill b Holland     24K Mendis lbw Starc     18A Mathews c Smith b Lyon     26D Chandimal lbw Lyon     43D de Silva (batting)     44R Herath c Smith b Lyon     5S Lakmal (batting)     0Extras (b-4, lb-3)     7Total (8 wickets, 95 overs)     312Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-44, 3-69, 4-98, 5-156, 6-246, 7-276, 8-297Bowling: M Starc 17-4-58-2; N Lyon 37-7-123-4; J Holland 20-4-72-2; J Hazlewood 12-2-16-0; S Smith 2-0-13-0; M Marsh 3-1-3-0; M Henriques 2-0-9-0; A Voges 2-0-11-0