WATCH: Sarfaraz Khan sledges Dhananjaya de Silva, Manav Suthar strikes moments later

In a series of interesting events, Sarfaraz Khan has managed to make a mark in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka despite being out of the playing XI. His relentless chatter and sledging seemingly added to the pressure on the Sri Lankan batters, with India eventually finding a big breakthrough as the hosts struggled to steady their innings.

Sarfaraz Khan's sledging tactics

Sarfaraz stayed vocal from the sidelines, trying to unsettle Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva with his words. The tactics seemed to work in the favor of the Shubman Gill-led side, with de Silva losing his wicket.

The moment took place when Manav Suthar was preparing to bowl to de Silva. The batter spotted some movement behind the bowler's arm at the last moment and backed away from his stance forcing Suthar to stop from bowling.

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Fielding at short leg, Sarfaraz quickly used the interruption as a chance to get in Dhananjaya's head. He urged the Sri Lanka captain to stop delaying proceedings and continue with the match, while telling him to concentrate on playing straight instead of being distracted by movement near the sight screen.

Here is the video:

“Nothing is there, bro. You are looking there. You are just wasting time, bro. Don’t be scared. You are the captain. Come on, bro. Why are you worried about that side?" said Sarafraz.

After a few deliveries, Sarfaraz's strategy showed big result as Dhananjaya was removed by Suthar on the fifth ball of the 35th over. The left-arm spinner gave the delivery some flight around the middle-stump line, drawing the Sri Lankan skipper forward in defence before a faint outside edge brought an end to his stay at the crease.

Late fightback from Sri Lanka

Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar turned the tide after lunch by producing an edge of Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva, while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj quickly dismissed Sooriyabandara and Niroshan Dickwella in quick succession. Sri Lanka slipped into deep trouble at 173 for 7, but a resolute, counter-attacking fifty from Sonal Dinusha provided much-needed fightback to delay India's push for the trail.

Dinusha's stubborn unbeaten resistance, supported by the tail, pushed Sri Lanka past 250 before dark clouds gathered over Colombo. A heavy precipitation forced the players off the field late in the final session, but with Sri Lanka eight wickets down and still well adrift of India's towering target, Shubman Gill's side remains poised to enforce total control on Day 4.