Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points

Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test Day 1: 5 Talking Points: India eyes the 2^nd Test to revenge Sri Lanka after the first Test at Galle ended in the favour of the hosts, who leaped back on the fourth day to win the match by 63 runs, with Herath’s 7-wicket haul in the second innings.

The 1^st day of the 2^nd Test began with India winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Murali Vijay who replaced the last match centurion Shikhar Dhawan got out without troubling the scorers, whereas, his opening partner KL Rahul gave India the start they needed with a century. Accompanied by the captain Virat Kohli Rahul built a big partnership to keep the scoreboard ticking. Rahane failed to contribute and Dhamika Prasad’s initial spell gave the start that will definitely bring a smile on Captain Mathews face. The day ended with India 319/6 in 87.2 overs.

To limelight the events of the first day and points to ponder, here we bring to you the 5 talking points of Sri Lanka v India 2^nd Test Day 1:

1. Dhammika’s initial spell:

Dhammika Prasad did wonders with the ball in his initial spells, gifting two early breakthroughs to the Sri Lanka team. The batsmen found it tough to play through his balls, there were hardly any runs scored. The first one to fall prey to this outside off length plan was Vijay who was caught plumb in front giving Dhammika his first success.

The next to fall was Ajinkya Rahane who was sent up the batting order in place of Rohit Sharma. The tactics didn’t work for India as Dhammika continued his sharp bowling, and got Rahane to edge one to the slips with just 4 runs off his bat.

2. Rahul-Kohli partnership:

Indian innings took flight after Virat Kohli came on to bat as the scoreboard for India read 12-2 in 4.3 overs. Kohli along with Rahul played a long innings, the partnership between these two totaled 164. Kohli scored 78 runs off 107 balls whereas Rahul contributed 86 runs in the partnership that brought India to the score of 176-3 when Kohli departed.

The Indian team was struggling after suffering a couple of blows and these two batsmen played a match saving innings.

3. Rahul’s knock:

Rahul who scored the 2^nd century of his Test career played an innings that pulled India back into the game. Dhawan’s replacement Murali Vijay failed to deliver the expected and got out on a duck, promoted up the order in place of Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane too lost his wicket easily scoring just 4.

KL Rahul played the savoiur today with his hundred, combining for a solid partnership with Captain Kohli. Rahul’s 108 came from 190 balls which also had 13 boundaries and a six.

4. Rohit finally gets going:

India again looked in trouble after Kohli fell, but to their relief Rohit Sharma finally made got going in the 2^nd Test. He was sent in at number 5 and Rahane was came one-down but the plan failed as he edged a Dhammika delivery to slops. But, the shuffle worked when Sharma finally played a worthy knock after a long silence of his bat.

He came out to bat when the India side was at 176-3, scored 79 off 132 deliveries and was dismissed by Mathews just as the day was about to end.

5. Sri Lanka gain momentum at the end of the day:

The advantage that was with the visitors has now shifted to the Sri Lankan side. India has managed a total of just 319 runs on the score board and is not expected to go beyond 400 as all the set batsmen have been taken care of by the Sri Lankan bowlers and Saha only has the tail for company.