Sri Lanka v India 1st Test, Day 2- 5 talking points, the collapsing hosts

Sri Lanka v India 1st Test, Day 2- 5 talking points, the collapsing hosts: The day 2 of the 1st Test at Galle between India and Sri Lanka saw some awesome batting performances on a pitch that seem to hold nothing for the batsmen. Sri Lankan innings ended at the mere total of 183 and India’s reply came with a total of 375 runs. Dhawan and Kohli’s batting, India’s strong batting line up, a Sri Lankan side that lacks experience and Kaushal the off-spinner caught the eyes of the spectators as the day came to a fold.

Here are Sri Lanka v India 1st Test, Day 2- 5 talking points, the collapsing hosts:

1 – Shikhar Dhawan:

Dhawan played another heroic innings for the Indian side that looked under pressure losing two early wickets as the first day came to an end. But the 2^nd day saw a strong Indian batting side when Dhawan stepped up to score a ton for India putting the pressure back on the Sri Lankan’s that was dismissed for 183 runs in the first innings. This was one of the slowest hundred ever as Dhawan scored 134 off 271 but it has put the visitors on the upfront. This was Dhawan’s second century in consecutive Tests.

Also Read – Sri Lanka v India 1st Test day 2 review: Kohli, Dhawan help India take big lead

2 – Virat Kohli:

The captain of the Indian Test team has decided to lead from the front, since he got the skippers cap. This was Kohli’s fourth century in four Test matches that he has captained successively. The second day saw a brilliant and the highest third wicket in Sri Lanka between Kohli and Dhawan which constituted 227 runs. Virat Kohli scored 103 runs in 191 deliveries today. He played the captain’s knock once again, putting pressure on hosts. His innings brought India to a lead of 192 runs.

3 – India’s strong batting show:

The Indian bowlers led by Ashwin did the magic on day one, dismissing Sri Lanka with a total of mere 183, as such a performance came after a long time for India. The Indian batsmen did the same wonders today, as Virat and Dhawan displayed wonderful batting skills followed by Saha and the tail enders putting up a competitive score of 375/10 with a lead of 192 over Sri Lanka. The batting showed fight right till the end as Varun Aaron went on to score 24 runs contributing in the team total. Though, the wickets of Virat, Dhawan and Rahane came in quick succession, Indian batting line up along with the tail enders displayed some awesome performances.

4 – Kaushal’s bowling:

The only relief for the Sri Lankan side was  Tharindu Kaushal the off spinner. After Ashwin’s fifer it was evident that the pitch had something in for the spinners. Kaushal took 5 wickets in his long spell of 32.4 overs. Although he started off being expensive and runs kept coming throughout his spell, as he went on to leak 134 runs, he kept striking and taking important wickets with his off spin and occasional dusra.

Also Read – Twitter Reactions- Sri Lanka v India 1st Test, Day 2: India racing towards innings victory

5 – India’s lead and poor start to Sri Lankan innings:

Sri Lankan bowling tattered under the Indian batting line up, Dhawan with his second successive ton in the last two matches and Kohli with his fourth consecutive century brought India to a challenging score. Along came Saha’s 60 from 120 deliveries supported by the tail enders who hung on to rotate the strike. The Indian batting showed that the pitch had something for the batsmen as well, though slow Dhawan played with ease. The visitors gave a lead of 192 runs scoring 375 in response to Sri Lanka’s 183, the hosts failed to bat again in the second innings as well. The day ended with 5/2 in 4 overs for Sri Lanka, again losing two early wickets to the spinners, Ashwin and Mishra.