This has been a special and record-breaking 48 hours for Irish cricket with the men’s international team scoring 492 runs in their second test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Here we give you the story of the game so far and a note on how to try and make sense of it if Cricket is not really your thing…

Paul Stirling and Curtis Campher hit their maiden Test centuries with Andrew Balbirnie falling just short on 95 runs, as Ireland posted a record total on day two in Galle.

Ireland was bowled out for 492 before rain brought a premature end to the evening session, with the Sri Lanka openers putting on 81 without loss in the 18 overs possible before the close.

Test cricket has three options of either side winning or the game being declared a draw. The latter is likely where both side post big totals and basically run the clock down on the game being played to a conclusion. The weather can have a big impact on this too.

If Ireland can bowl out Sri Lanka for less then 492 then their opponents will; have to bat again in their second innings. This is known as a ‘follow-on’.

If Sri Lanka beats the total of 492 in their first innings they do not need to finish but could declare, bringing Ireland back to the crease and then hoping to bowl them out quickly and attack their final target in the time remaining.

Each Test match is restricted to a maximum of five days. It can get a bit complicated.

The best way to judge your own perspective, or that of the commentators on BT Sport, Premier Sports and Clubber, is to check out the betting markets which tend to be very sensitive.

Betfair is an international betting exchange favoured by cricket bettors who can sometimes bet in eye-watering sums. To date, this Test Match which began yesterday has seen a total of €14.1 million traded with Ireland originally matched at odds of 55/1 to score an upset, before dipping to 5/1 but now easing back out to 20/1.

Sri Lanka were backed at odds as short as 1/10 before drifting to 11/1 and now coming back in to 2/1.

The most likely outcome to be forecast by following the money is a draw currently at odds of 1/2 or with a 66 percent chance.

So there you have it. Three more days to go, maybe, and a chance for Ireland to claim a first-ever Test Match win since gaining Test Status in 2017. That has included Covid and a reduced test match schedule though, and it did take India twenty years to win their first Test Match and New Zealand 26 years.

It is a sport for the long game by all accounts.