Former India batter-turned-commentator Cheteshwar Pujara has advised India to be a little braver with their possible declaration on Day 4 of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka as well. He stated that India need to win both Tests of the series to stay in the hunt for a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final as well. India bowled out Sri Lanka for 284 in 79.4 overs on Day 3 to gain a crucial 178-run lead in the first innings. Earlier, resuming their innings on their overnight score of 460-9, Team India managed to post 462.

During a discussion on Cricinfo, Pujara said: “India will have to make their intentions very clear. Not a lot of time is left in the Test match. Also, you have to keep an eye on the forecast. You can’t ignore it. To qualify for the WTC final, they will have to win both the Test matches. To do that, they will have to be a little brave and a little more aggressive.”

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“India will have to be brave with their declaration. They will have to give enough time to the bowlers. Maybe try and look at a minimum of 90-100 overs. To do that, India will have to declare at somewhere between 350-375. In worst case scenario, if Sri Lanka get to 350-375, give credit to Sri Lanka, but India will have to be brave,” Cheteshwar Pujara concluded.

However, rain had a big say in the Galle Test on the first two days of the game as well. On Day 3 as well, weather conditions forced the umpires to call stumps early as well.