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Right at the edge of the moment when the India National Cricket Team was looking for a wicket badly in Colombo to make their bid strong to claim the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, the skipper Shubman Gill pulled off a stunner.
Just a while after the hundred-run partnership between Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Kamindu Mendis, Sri Lanka lost the experienced batter Mendis. A well-directed short ball over the shoulder of the batter did the job for the Indian cricket team.
Shubman Gill takes a brilliant catch to dismiss Kamindu Mendis in the India vs Sri Lanka Test match in Colombo
Mendis faced a few short-pitched deliveries well in the innings, claiming a four and a six. The batter was confident enough to get another boundary by swinging the bat across the line of the ball. This time, the connection was not on the sweet spot of the bat. The ball went high and was travelling towards the square leg cordon.
Shubman Gill spotted the ball and locked track back to cover the significant ground. He did some circles as well but never took his eyes off the ball. He dived and claimed a brilliant, clean catch.
Watch the stunning catch.
Absolute banger by captain Gill to get India a must-needed wicket...
— Shubman-Core💥 (@VihanWahi44569) August 26, 2026
gill & pk my brothaaa..wickets follow pic.twitter.com/xsODnj1HPP
Kamindu Mendis and Pasindu Sooriyabandara crafted a hundred-run partnership to keep Sri Lanka relevant in the contest
It was a much-needed dismissal for the Indian cricket team as the hosts were looking strong enough with Mendis and Sooriyabandara in the middle. Unlike the previous innings across two matches in the Test series, this time the home team looks more stonger than before in the contest.
When Shubman Gill asked Sri Lanka to bat in their second innings in a follow-up, India was purely in the driving seat. A defeat by an innings on the own backyard would be a massive blow for the Sri Lankan cricket team. After losing two top-order batters early in the innings, they bounced back through the hundred-run partnership between Kamindu Mendis and Pasindu Sooriyabandara.
The combination of Prasidh Krishna and Shubman Gill earned India the crucial breakthrough on the first ball of the 44th over of the innings. Mendis, a left-handed batter, might not have been prepared for a bouncer on the very first ball of the over and made the mistake. He had to depart with a 55-run knock facing 92 balls.
For the first time, Sri Lanka could edge past India
Sri Lanka is displaying a great fight-back in the match. They are currently only a few runs away from surpassing India's first innings total, which was 503, to take a lead.
If the hosts at least manage to offer India a target over 200, that could be a challenging task for the Men in Blue considering the nature of the pitch on Day 5 of the match. To level the scoreline of the 2-match Test series, Sri Lanka need to win the match.
