It all comes down to the final day in Galle. India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Day 5 Live needing 288 more runs to complete an all-time record fourth-innings chase and beat India. While the tourists need just six more wickets to close out the match. Follow along for the latest score, weather updates, and how the win probability shifts as this Test reaches its conclusion.
Sri Lanka resume the final day on 84 for 4, chasing a daunting target of 372 more than any side has ever scored to win a fourth-innings Test at Galle. Dhananjaya de Silva (31 not out) and Sonal Dinusha (25 not out) will look to build another partnership, having already rescued Sri Lanka once in this match with a match-defining stand in the first innings. India need six wickets, and with rain forecast again, time itself could end up being as big a factor as the runs still required.
India’s second innings folded for 194, with KL Rahul (35), Devdutt Padikkal (44) and a typically aggressive 66 from Rishabh Pant the main contributors, setting Sri Lanka a target of 372. India’s pace and spin combination then made early inroads in the chase, reducing the hosts to 47 for 4 at one stage before de Silva and Dinusha steadied things to close the day on 84/4. Dinesh Chandimal was ruled out of the rest of the match after being diagnosed with concussion, with debutant Pasindu Sooriyabandara coming in as his substitute.
Rain has been a constant subplot all match, and Day 5 carries a forecast high of around 31°C with roughly a 35% chance of rain . Marginally better odds than the previous two days, but still enough to threaten a clean finish. Any delay would work firmly in Sri Lanka’s favor by eating into the overs India has to force a result.
On paper, this is heavily in India’s favor. A target of 372 would be an unprecedented fourth-innings chase at this ground, and Sri Lanka still have six wickets to lose against an attack that has troubled their batting order throughout the match. Ravindra Jadeja, fresh off passing 350 Test wickets, and Manav Suthar, who has impressed on just his second Test appearance. Give India a strong spin-bowling platform on a pitch that has offered turn from early in the match.
Sri Lanka’s realistic paths are a De Silva-led rearguard to bat out the day for a draw, or a repeat of the Dinusha-Dickwella heroics from the first innings to at least make India work deep into the final session. An outright chase to 372, while not impossible in theory, would require a performance well beyond anything either side has managed so far in this Test.
With Dinesh Chandimal ruled out through concussion, 25-year-old Pasindu Sooriyabandara comes in as a concussion substitute an unusual way for any player to be plunged into a Test debut. How he handles the pressure of a live match situation, batting for something bigger than his own individual milestone, will be one of the more unusual subplots of the day.
The first hour is likely to be decisive. If India can strike early against de Silva or Dinusha, the equation tilts sharply in their favor; if Sri Lanka’s overnight pair survives the new-ball burst, a draw becomes the more realistic outcome given the runs still required. Watch also for how quickly India’s captain turns to Jadeja and Suthar once the shine wears off, and keep an eye on the sky — with rain in the forecast again, the weather could yet have the final say. We’ll keep updating this page with the score, session-by-session shifts, and the final result as Day 5 unfolds.
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