India vs Sri Lanka: Visitors need to take out Virat Kohli early on Day 2 to keep their hopes alive

On their last Test before facing South Africa in early January, India are barely having to sweat as they cruised to 371 for four on Day 1 of the third Test at New Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla. Similar to what has been the case in recent contests between the two sides, the difference in their qualities was hard to ignore, as India made a mockery of the Lankan attack, courtesy centuries by opener Murali Vijay and skipper Virat Kohli. [caption id=“attachment_4239177” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Early wickets on Day 2 are the only hope for Sri Lanka to stay alive in the Test. AP[/caption] From the very beginning, when India won the toss and elected to bat, the runs kept flowing. Shikhar Dhawan, who replaced KL Rahul for this Test, along with Murali Vijay, started with a flurry of boundaries. As Dhawan first, and later Cheteshwar Pujara got out against the run of play, Kohli teamed up with Vijay to dispel any chance of a Sri Lankan fightback. Kohli, who had already had two centuries from the series, notched up his third century of the series during the 283-run partnership with Vijay, who also scored his second ton of the three-match series. On Day 2, Sri Lanka would be hoping for a few more wickets from left-arm wrist spinner Lakshan Sandakan, who struck twice late on Saturday with his well-disguised googlies. As Sri Lanka’s bowling coach mentioned in the press conference after the day’s play, Sandakan would aim to use his googly more judiciously in the morning on Day 2, something that he did not on Saturday. Quite predictably, the crucial wicket for the Lankans would be that of the Indian captain, who never looked in trouble on his home turf during his unbeaten knock of 156. A better performance from the spinners – Dilruwan Perera being the other one – would go a long way in helping the visitors stop the Delhi run-machine from notching up another double century, as his wicket would largely determine whether the hosts end up with a total in excess of 600 or not. Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage too would like to bowl with better discipline on the second day, as their wayward bowling early on played a part on Saturday in letting India run away with the game from the start. Sri Lanka would hope for them to join the wicket-takers’ list on Day 2, as without their contribution, it would be difficult to bundle the hosts out for anything below 550, and even if they do, they would still be staring at a daunting total. Sri Lanka’s best hope would be to dismiss India below 500 and hope for a magical performance from their batsmen to keep their hopes alive in the Test match.