Best Pictures of the Day - Braveheart Dhammika Prasad, an inequal face-off and Pujara's unique feat

15 wickets fell on an eventful Day three to leave the 3rd Test firmly in the balance before rain stopped play on Sunday. It was a day when the pacers from both sides extracted a lot of bounce and movement from the pitch, producing a treat for fast bowling fans.India currently lead the match with 111 runs and have 8 wickets in hand.Here are the best pictures of the day:

#1 Braveheart Dhammika Prasad

Dhammika Prasad received a painful blow on his left wrist facing only his third delivery from an Ishant Sharma bouncer. The ball reared up on him and he removed his eyes from the ball. His partner Kusal Perera was looking for a quick single, and so Prasad jogged to the other end, but threw his bat and helmet away immediately.

Already struggling with a stiff neck, the Sri Lanka No. 8 retired hurt.

He returned to bat when the Sri Lanka score was 156/8, continuing his innings across two sessions. He scored 27 off 23 balls, taking his team’s total to 201.

#2 KL Rahul\'s slip catching

KL Rahul’s topsy-turvy career graph continued on Day 3, with two catches he dropped in the Sri Lanka innings being crucial in deciding the course of the play. Kusal Perera, who Rahul dropped, went on to make the bulk of the Sri Lanka 1^st innings score – helping his team escape a follow-on.

He did take three catches in the same position however.

#3 Binny\'s third scalp

Stuart Binny reacts after taking his third Test wicket, his victim the explosive Dinesh Chandimal. Chandimal’s wicket compounded a sensational new ball spell by the India seamers.

In Binny’s last Test, overstepping had denied him his first Test wicket. He looked back to the umpire to check if there had been any infringement this time, and then wheeled away to celebrate.

#4 The unmatched face-off

Rangana Herath and Ishant Sharma had a bit of a fiery exchange in the 32^nd over of the innings, when captain Virat Kohli stepped in. Herath decided to have a face-off with Ishant Sharma, but then decided that having a face-off with the umpire would be easier.

Ishant appeared to give the batsman a stare after bowling a bouncer, and Herath complained to the umpire, in what exact words it is not known.

#5 Herath\'s obstinate counter attack

Ranga Herath, Sri Lanka’s No.9, came out to bat when his team’s score read 48/6 and Dhammika Prasad had returned to the pavilion retired hurt. Requiring 65 more runs to avoid following on, Herath combined with Kusal Perera to launch a blistering counter-attack on the bowlers.

He scored 49 runs eventually, helping his team cross 200. If Herath the bowler shines proportionally to how Herath the batsman shone, India have big trouble on their hands on Day 4.

#6 Breakthrough

Having reduced Sri Lanka to 47/6 in the morning session, India would have been looking to enforce the follow on – to gain a substantial advantage in the deciding Test. However, No.9 Rangana Herath and Kusal Perera combined to make a 79-run partnership, frustrating the visitors.

As Kohli took the catch to dismiss Perera and get the breakthrough, he kicked the ball away, summing up the dominant sentiment of his side – a let up of the frustration of being denied the upper hand by Herath, after having broken through Sri Lanka batsmen's’ defences.

#7 Pujara\'s unique feat

Cheteshwar Pujara was bowled for a second-ball duck in the second innings by Dhammika Prasad, becoming only the second batsman in history after Saeed Anwar to carry his bat and score a duck in the same match.

#8 Dhammika Prasad and Malcolm Marshall

Dhammika Prasad, suffering from a stiff neck and a hurt left wrist, came out to bowl with the new ball with a heavily plastered hand, giving Sri Lanka the early breakthrough of Pujara’s wicket.

Remember Malcolm Marshall taking 7/53 at Headingley, Leeds in July 1984 with left hand in plaster #DhammikaPrasad #IndvSL

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 30, 2015