Chandimal ton a breath of fresh air in Delhi smog

Dinesh Chandimal withstood air pollution ranging into hazardous levels as he batted through the day yesterday to post his tenth Test century and help Sri Lanka avoid the follow-on in the third Test against India.

The Sri Lanka captain was unbeaten on 147 after guiding his team to 356-9 at stumps on day three, still trailing by 180 after India declared at 536-7 on day two.

Ravichandran Ashwin took 3-90 for India, who struggled in the field for the first two sessions of the day as Chandimal and Angelo Mathews combined in a 181-run fourth-wicket partnership.

Matthews was caught behind off Ashwin’s bowling for 111 just before tea, and Chandimal moved quickly after the interval to reach his hundred from 265 balls.

He shared a 61-run stand with Sadeera Samarawickrama (33) for the fifth wicket to keep Sri Lanka’s innings moving until three wickets fell for five runs.

The light and weather conditions have combined to overshadow the second and third days of the match at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.

Play had to be stopped three times on Sunday while bowlers received medical treatment or players complained to the umpires about the air pollution. That possibly prompted Virat Kohli to declare India’s innings closed after he was dismissed for 243 on the second day.

Mathews said the players were in favour of playing whenever possible, and trusted match officials to make the call on safety.

“Conditions were almost the same as yesterday. Maybe more intense,” Mathews said. “We want to play cricket and we want to get out on the park. It is up to the officials to make a decision.”

The Indian capital has recently experienced elevated levels of air pollution, and a public health emergency was declared last month.

A lack of wind and cloud cover over Delhi also contributed to the stifling conditions.