Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test day 4 review: India on the brink of leveling the series

Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test day 4 review: India on the brink of leveling the series: On the 4^th day of the Colombo Test when Sri Lankan’s were set a mammoth target of 413 runs to win the Test, Kumar Sangakkara must have thought for a while that his career might not end in the fairytale way he wanted to. The gigantic chase means that Sri Lankan’s will have to bat out of their skins to score their highest 4^th innings total ever. But the most memorable moment of the day was Kumar Sangakkara’s final walk to the middle in the Lankan jersey. The P Sara Oval was on its feet to honour its hero and fireworks went ablaze in the background.

The Indian team welcomed him with a guard of honour. Millions of people were praying that the Sri Lankan Talisman ends up his career on a high. But unfortunately Sangakkara once again became the victim of Ashwin who scalped his wicket for the 4^th consecutive time in the series. Kumar raised his bat and waved off to the crowd which knew that it had seen it’s hero for the last time in national colours. The Indian team led by Kohli shook hands with him as a mark of respect while Sri Lankan fan Percy also came on to the field to congratulate him. Before that Sri Lanka had lost their opener Kaushal Silva who got out on a friendly full-toss bowled by Ashwin. Then Angelo Mathews and Karunaratne steadied the innings as Sri Lanka ended the day on 72/2 still needing 341 runs to win.

Earlier today when Indian batsmen stepped on to the field they knew that they were in the ascendancy and just needed to back up the clinical bowling of India with their sensible batting. But the memories of the Galle Test in which the Indian batting had faltered must have given a ray of hope to the Sri Lankan’s that everything was not over yet. When the pair of Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane walked on to the crease, the Indian team was already leading by 157 runs.

Now the onus was on this pair to pile up further misery on the Lankan bowlers. While the Sri Lankan bowlers came with the intent of making early inroads in the morning session so as to restrict the tourists from getting a big lead. Though the duo of Rahane and Vijay started off cautiously but finally unveiled the aggressive intent about which Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri have been talking about all throughout the tour. Vijay who had hamstring troubles stepped on the gas and put his legs on the accelerator mode to give India some quick runs. While on the other end the resilient Rahane as ever was gracious in his strokes and maintained the right balance in his game. As soon as there was a loose delivery in his radar he latched on to it. Finally Tharindu Kaushal provided some respite to the Lankans when he out foxed Vijay as he missed a big sweep and the ball kissed his pads. India ended the morning session in a dominant position.

In the middle session it was all about carrying on the momentum of the 1^st session as the Indian’s had their sights on piling up quick runs. Though Kohli perished shortly after lunch but Rohit Sharma and Rahane continued adding runs. They added 85 runs for the 4^th wicket. Rohit Sharma looked in good touch and played some delightful strokes before Kaushal struck for the 3^rd time in the innings. But amidst all this, Rahane reached his three figure mark after getting stuck in the nineties for a while. It was a knock which was characterized by class, elegance and character. The Mumbaikar once again stood like a pillar for the side and by the time he got out India’s lead had stretched past the 350 run mark. As a precautionary measure by the Indian camp, Wriddhiman Saha who had a hamstring niggle walked off the field. When the middle session ended, India was leading by 370 runs.

After the tea interval it took only 9 overs before Virat Kohli declared the innings with Sri Lanka needing 413 runs to win. For Sri Lanka Dhammika Prasad and Tharindu Kaushal took 4 wickets each.

India was able to extend its dominance on the 4th day and their batsmen ensured that they set up a stiff target for the Lankan’s in the 4th innings. And with Ashwin at his impeccable best and the nature of the 5th day pitches in Sri Lanka, India seems to be in the driver’s seat.

Brief Scores: 

India 2nd innings – 325/8 Decl. (Rahane 126, Vijay 82; Prasad 4/43)

Sri Lanka 2nd innings – 72/2 (Karunaratne 25, Mathews 23; Ashwin 2/27) need further 341 runs to win.