India 6 wickets from win against Sri Lanka in 1st test

GALLE, Sri Lanka (AP) — India was heading towards a win over Sri Lanka with six more wickets needed after four days of the first test at Galle International Stadium on Tuesday.

India was all out for 193 in its second innings about midway through the day, setting Sri Lanka an improbable winning target of 372 in four-plus sessions.

By stumps, Sri Lanka was 84-4, trailing by 287 runs. Sonal Dinusha and captain Dhananjaya de Silva thwarted India's charge by safely reaching stumps.

First innings centurion Dinusha was 25 not out off 36 balls and de Silva was on 31 from 73 balls.

In the morning session, India lost four wickets to reach 116-4 at lunch. It kept an eye on quick scoring and possible bad weather in order to force a win.

Rishabh Pant led the way for India on either side of lunch. He hit 50 off 53 balls including eight fours and two sixes. Pant was out for 66 off 69.

Devdutt Padikkal added 44 off 75 and Lokesh Rahul 35 off 47 before India was all out for 193 in 48.5 overs.

Early in the day, Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal injured his right shoulder while fielding on the boundary. He dived and landed hard to save two runs then collapsed on the other side of the boundary. Chandimal was taken to hospital and Sri Lanka Cricket said the scans were clear.

But he was replaced by Pasindu Sooriyabandara as a concussion substitute. Sooriyabandara made his test debut.

Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya picked two wickets before lunch, including trapping Shubman Gill on 8, while pacer Asitha Fernando took 4-31.

Pant and Ravindra Jadeja (9) combined for 54 off 60 balls until Pant was sent back in the 41st over by Lahiru Kumara. India lost its last four wickets for just 19 runs.

Sri Lanka’s second innings was delayed due to a passing shower, but it didn’t get a good start after play resumed.

Mohammed Siraj bounced out opener Nishan Madushka for 6 and Manav Suthar struck twice. Lahiru Udara was caught on 16 and Suthar trapped debutant Sooriyabandara for a golden duck.

Sri Lanka was 21-3 in the 11th over then 47-4 in the 22nd when Kamindu Mendis was caught on 2 at slip off Prasidh Krishna.

De Silva and Dinusha dug deep to bat out the last hour when bad light was called. They face six more hours on the final day on Wednesday, when there's a threat of rain.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

India's Rishabh Pant plays a shot during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's Mohammed Siraj celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka's Nishan Madushka during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's Prasidh Krishna celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando, right, celebrates taking the wicket of India's Yashasvi Jaiswal during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando celebrates taking the wicket of India's Yashasvi Jaiswal during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

India's KL Rahul plays a shot as Sri Lanka's Niroshan Dickwella watches during the day four of the first cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India in Galle, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Lebanon ’s Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes on a southern village have killed 12 people, including two children.

Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels claim to have shot down a Saudi reconnaissance plane. And seven crew members of a Saudi-owned tanker struck last week on the strait appear to remain unaccounted for.

Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.

Israel carried out airstrikes early Monday on the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Rumman, killing at least 12 people, including a paramedic, four women and two children, the Health Ministry said.

The strikes came during a new round of escalation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Israel's military said it struck several Hezbollah militants it accused of transferring weapons to Kfar Rumman.

The military also said it was reviewing the claim that “several uninvolved civilians were harmed” in overnight strikes across southern Lebanon, which it said were in response to Hezbollah militants launching explosive drones against soldiers in the area of the Ali Taher ridge.

Iran-backed Houthi rebels downed a Saudi armed reconnaissance aircraft on Monday in the northern part of Yemen, Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said in a statement.

The aircraft was detected in Jawf province’s airspace, according to Saree, who said the aircraft belonged to neighboring Saudi Arabia and was seeking to carry out “hostile actions.”

The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify that claim. There was no immediate Saudi comment.

Saree added that over the past 24 hours, a total of three reconnaissance drones belonging to Saudi Arabia were downed, including one that was spotted Monday morning in Bayda province.

The Yemeni government armed forces said in a post on X that they targeted Houthi gatherings in Dahle province and launched 13 airstrikes targeting Houthi positions and a missile launch base in Bayda province. Other airstrikes targeted Houthi fronts in Marib province. The Houthi military didn’t address those claims.

The U.N. special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, called the Houthis’ expansion of fighting across several front lines “extremely alarming” and warned of its broader impact on Yemenis.

A senior official with the United Arab Emirates says “no single state” should control the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it plans to announce a new “exclusion zone” near the waterway aimed at vessels intending to transit.

“Our energy exports will not be held hostage, nor will our trade and economic activity,” Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said at a forum of world leaders in Abu Dhabi.

Gargash said Iran should face consequences for threatening oil tankers and commercial vessels in the strait with mines, drones or missiles. “Using an international waterway as an instrument of coercion is unacceptable,” he added.

The UAE, a close U.S. ally, has repeatedly come under Iranian missile and drone fire throughout the war. Rebuilding trust between Iran and the Gulf countries could take decades, Gargash warned, because by targeting its neighbors, Tehran has “demolished” any presumption of good faith.

Oman said it had evacuated 16 crew members from a Saudi-owned tanker attacked last week in the Strait of Hormuz. The Sidr tanker was attacked by Iran off Oman, and Saudi Arabia earlier said two Filipino seafarers were killed.

Oman’s Maritime Security ​Center said on X that 16 of the 25 crew members were rescued. It didn’t give details on the remaining seven.

If the seven are confirmed dead, that would make the attack the deadliest on a commercial vessel since the war began on Feb. 28.

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank community of Hajja mourned the death of Omar al-Toubasi, who was killed in a confrontation with Israeli settlers.

Israel’s military said in a statement that soldiers were sent to Hajja on Sunday to disperse a confrontation and fired toward Palestinians allegedly throwing stones at soldiers after warning shots. “Hits were identified,” the military said.

“The army came and made matters worse,” witness Mohammed al-Batta said, adding that settlers had started the confrontation by beating a local man. He said soldiers “started using tear gas and sound bombs at the residents. Gunfire broke out from the two sides.” He said several others were injured.

Attacks on settlers in the West Bank have surged since the war in Gaza began with the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the United Nations humanitarian office.

The top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire in Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov, called for the implementation of President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war there, including the withdrawal of Israel’s military and the disarming of Hamas.

He also warned that rising violence in the occupied West Bank could obstruct a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Because with everything that is happening in the West Bank — and with more than 50% of Gaza now under the control of the Israeli army and less than 50% under the control of Hamas — there is no credible pathway forward to a political resolution of the conflict,” Mladenov said at the Hili Forum, a gathering of world leaders in the United Arab Emirates.

Kosovo has formalized its commitment to the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, according to the U.S.-created Board of Peace overseeing the fragile ceasefire.

The force would deploy to areas of the Palestinian territory administered by an incoming technocratic committee. While there was no information about the number of troops Kosovo would provide, a Board of Peace official said it is expected to contribute about 25 personnel. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the numbers have not yet been finalized.

The statement says Kosovo security personnel have deployed at ISF headquarters for months, working on logistics, operations to clear unexploded weapons and civil affairs.

Overall committed troops to the force remain far short of the expected 20,000. Uganda, Morocco, Kazakhstan and Albania also have made commitments.

— Matthew Lee in Washington

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Omar al-Toubasi who was killed during clashes with Israeli army soldiers last night, during his funeral in the West Bank village Hajja, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)

Rescue workers search for victims under the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern village of Kfar Rumman, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A boy rides a bicycle past gulls gathered along the shore of the Strait of Hormuz in Bandar Abbas, Iran, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People watch rescue workers use excavators as they search for victims under the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern village of Kfar Rumman, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)