23:19 IST:

But the play was interrupted as rain and bad light played a spoilsport. After a delay of more than two hours or so, play finally resumed, though the first session was abbreviated. Pope and Duckett navigated the testing conditions unbothered, accumulating runs by playing on the merit, maintaining a steady run rate of around 5 runs per over, courtesy of strictly average and wayward bowling. Fell to his own aggression, Ben Duckett, yet again missed his well-deserved century, but again, the Lankan bowlers couldn’t take much advantage to create pressure. They allowed yet another partnership to flourish. The Pope-Root alliance added 51 together before Root’s departure right on the cusp of Tea. Lahiru Kumara, though expensive, managed to snag two scalps to his name.