India v Sri Lanka, 1st Test - 5 Talking Points

Much has been said in the recent past about India versus Sri Lanka matches being overexposed to the cricket-watching audience. However, the crowd at the Eden Gardens on the 5th day of the first Test match between the two nations would beg to differ! The first game of a long bilateral series was much like an exciting sports car that hadn’t been used for a while – a little rusty at ignition, picking up speed gradually and then galloping along at it’s promised horsepower.

The match had an unceremonious start as a tumultuous downpour engulfed the city of Kolkata and hampered play for a good part of the first three days. It was Dinesh Chandimal who called favourably at the flip of the coin and elected to bowl first. Although India entered the series as favourites, they were in for a rough start as Sri Lanka bowled spectacularly in the first innings and restricted them to a meagre score of 172 runs. In reply, the Lankans could only accumulate a lead of 122 runs before being sent off to the pavilion by the Indian pacers.

Virat Kohli‘s boys came back strongly in their 2nd innings with some fine innings by Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara and the skipper himself. Declaring the innings with an advantage of 231 runs to their name, India would’ve hoped to have a Lakmal-like performance of their own. In spite of the Indians getting pretty close to a victory, augmented by some heated exchanges on the field and some riveting DRS calls, it was bad light that once again reigned at the stadium and the match was concluded at a respectable draw.

Let’s cast a glance at the 5  talking points of the game:

1. Lakmal fires up at ignition

Sri Lankan pacer, Suranga Lakmal grabbed plenty of eyeballs owing to his stellar performance with the red cherry. His bowling was right on the money as he ripped through the Indian batting line-up in their first innings. The very first delivery of the Test match saw Lakmal force a seasoned batsman as KL Rahul to play an unplayable delivery and deposit the ball into the waiting hands of keeper, Niroshan Dickwella.

In his initial spell on the first day, he scalped 3 wickets without spending a run after 6 overs. Firing away consistently at the batsmen on an uncharacteristically bouncy Eden Gardens’ pitch, Lakmal scalped the 4 crucial wickets of Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the spell of 19 overs that he bowled while conceding just 26 runs.

2. Cheteshwar Pujara’s knock

Cheteshwar Pujara was the lone bright figure in the Indian batting line-up in their first innings. He walked out onto the field with the Indian scoreboard reading 0/1 and had to take on the mammoth task of consolidating himself on the tricky track as well as supplement his team’s total simultaneously.

In spite of wickets falling around him at regular intervals, he held his nerve and his end with a stubborn grip. It was his gritty knock of 52 runs off 117 deliveries that lent an iota of respectability to the India total at the end of the innings. Pujara played a particularly lovely cover drive off Dasun Shanaka’s bowling in the 26th over that looked straight out of a handbook of perfect cricketing shots.

3. Indian pacers picking 10 wickets in their 1st innings

In a historic event, not one Indian spinner got a single wicket in the two innings that they bowled at Sri Lanka in this Test. It was the pacers that dominated all throughout and dragged India to the brink of victory. As Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews were looking all set to run away with the game in Lanka’s first innings, the Indian fast bowlers took the onus on themselves to negate the opposition’s batting prowess with some quality pace bowling.

Be it hitting the deck at a laudable pace consistently or bowling those fearless bouncers to intimidate the opposition at regular intervals, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, along with Umesh Yadav put their best foot forward. The trio dismissed the entire Lankan team with 4 wickets apiece to Bhuvneshwar and Shami, and 2 to Umesh Yadav. At one point of time, it had looked like Sri Lanka could well be on track to put up a hefty lead of 200+ runs, which was curtailed commendably by the Indian pacers.

4. Kohli’s 18th Test ton

Skipper, Virat Kohli may have been dismissed for a rare duck in the first innings of the match but he made sure to make up for it in the second innings as he showcased some gorgeous cricketing shots to bring up his 18th Test hundred. Not only did he equal Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most Test 100s as an Indian skipper (11), but he also ensured that his team could have a good shot at winning the match.

Cautious at the beginning, Kohli grew increasingly flamboyant with his stroke-making as the innings progressed and shifted gears as soon as Wridhhiman Saha departed off the bowling of Shanaka in the third ball of the 80th over. The captain’s knock of 104* comprised 12 boundaries and 2 sixers, including some splendid drives on the off side and inside-out shots.

5. The last 26 overs

The last 26 overs marked the Sri Lankan 2nd innings and more importantly, the most enthralling part of the entire Test match. Animated words were exchanged, umpiring decisions were overturned, bouncers hit the batsman and stumps were knocked off. While most would’ve expected a sluggish end to the Test match with a long, drawn-out draw. The final innings saw some quality pace bowling on India’s part as they quickly picked up 3 wickets and Sri Lanka were left stranded at 17-3.

It was the unfaltering partnership between Chandimal and Dickwella that saw the Lankans through, in spite of India creating several chances for themselves. Had it not been for an early end to the day’s play due to bad light conditions and a slow over rate on India’s part, they may have fancied their chances at winnings after having demolished Sri Lanka to a scoreline of 75/7 after 26.3 overs.