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NEW DELHI. — India captain Virat Kohli smashed a career-best 243, his second successive double hundred, before a blanket of smog prompted him to declare on 536 for seven in the third and final Test cricket against Sri Lanka yesterday. The home side’s attack then turned the screw even further on the visitors when they reduced Sri Lanka to 18-2 by the tea interval on the second day.

At the break, Dilruwan Perera was 12 not out with former skipper Angelo Mathews on four as Sri Lanka, 1-0 down in the series, trailed by a massive 518 runs in the Indian capital.

Behind in the match and struggling in the conditions, several Sri Lankan players returned from the lunch break sporting face-masks as the seasonal haze affecting the region thickened over the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium.

The smog eventually held up play twice and 22 minutes was lost in total as Lahiru Gamage and his pace colleague Suranga Lakmal both left the field during the second session as they found it difficult to breathe. — Reuters.