Madushka, Mendis hit double hundreds as Sri Lanka beat Ireland. Cricket

After tea on the fourth day of the second Test match being played in Galle, the hosts declared their first innings 212 runs ahead after scoring 704 runs for three wickets.

Ireland were 54 for two at stumps, needing 158 runs on the final day to avoid a second straight innings defeat.

Ireland can still secure a historic first draw if they can hang on after losing all five of their games since gaining Test status in 2017.

Madushka converted her maiden Test century into a double century, becoming the second youngest Sri Lankan player to score a Test 200 after Mahela Jayawardene.

They were dismissed for 205 in the third over after lunch when Andy McBrine was lbw, Ireland successfully reviewed the decision after an initial appeal was turned down.

Madushka’s marathon innings lasted six minutes before eight hours as she faced 339 balls and hit 22 fours and a six.

Mendis, who was twice out in the 190s, reached his maiden Test 200 by pushing a Ben White delivery behind square to steal a single.

He scored 245 runs and was one short of Wasim Akram’s world record of 12 sixes in a Test innings when he was caught at long-off in an attempt to equal that mark.

Angelo Mathews was dismissed for a duck in the first Test and was put down on one in this match, but he did the worst to post his 16th Test century.

After India against Bangladesh in 2007 and Pakistan against Sri Lanka in 2019, the hosts registered their quadruple century in the history books.

Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne, who scored 115 on Wednesday, declared immediately.

Their mammoth 704 for three was also the highest ever in Galle, surpassing Bangladesh’s 638 in 2013.

The pitch was still a paradise for the batsmen, but Ramesh Mendis clean bowled James McCullum for 10 before Jayasuriya had Peter Moore caught at short extra cover.

Andy Balbirnie and Harry Tector took Ireland to stumps without much trouble, with the captain on 12 not out and Ireland on seven at number four.