Resistance from West Indies’ lower-order batsmen and rain put a damper on Sri Lanka’s push to enhance their advantage at the end of the third day of the first Test at Galle on Tuesday (November 22).

At stumps on the rain-shortened day, the West Indies were 224-9, still 162 runs behind Sri Lanka.

Resuming from their overnight total of 113-6, 273 runs behind Sri Lanka’s first innings score of 386, Kyle Mayers and Jason Holder, 22 and one, respectively overnight, put on an additional 50 runs for the seventh wicket and hardly put a foot wrong against the Sri Lankan bowling attack.

However, with the score at 163, Mayers pushed at a Ramesh Mendis delivery and was spectacularly caught by Dimuth Karunaratne at short cover for 45 with the West Indies still needing 21 to avoid the follow-on.

Holder fell shortly after for 36 with the score at 175 when he attempted to cut a short and wide delivery from Praveen Jayawickrama that took a top edge that was gobbled up by Dushmantha Chameera at point.

At that point, the West Indies were 11 runs short of the follow-on target of 186 but Rahkeem Cornwall and Joshua Da Silva stitched together a 49-run ninth-wicket partnership that saved the follow-on and took the West Indies beyond the 200-run mark.

Cornwall was eventually dismissed four overs after lunch for 39 top-edging a Suranga Lakmal delivery to square leg just before the rains came.

No play was possible for the remainder of the day which means should the weather cooperate on Wednesday, Da Silva will resume on 11 with Shannon Gabriel the only batsman left.

Jayawickrama has so far taken 3-38 while Mendis has figures of 3-75.