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Last over of the day, and Jadeja will bowl the 44th. Dilruwan pushes the third ball of the over towards deep cover, and collects three in the process. Mathews sees off the remainder of the over, with four coming off it, as the Lankans finish the second day on a shaky score of 154/5! It has been India’s day all the way. Their lower-order contributed valuable runs towards the team total, with the visitors reaching the 600-run mark. They followed it up with a good bowling performance, restricting the Lankan batsmen from settling at any given point of time. Had it not been for Tharanga and Mathews, who knows how badly the hosts would have been struggling right now. Day 1 review: Centuries from opener Shikhar Dhawan (190) and one-down Cheteshwar Pujara (144 not out) helped India reach 399/3 at stumps on the opening day of the first of the three-Test cricket series against Sri Lanka at Galle on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_3860205” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]
Indian captain Virat Kohli (L) and his Sri Lankan counterpart Rangana Herath.[/caption] Electing to bat, India rode on a 253-run second wicket effort between Dhawan and Pujara to surpass the highest-ever first day’s total of 351 runs in Sri Lanka. Later, Pujara, who notched up his 12th Test century, and Ajinkya Rahane (39 not out) put on an unbeaten 113-run fourth-wicket stand to take the visitors to their second ever highest opening day’s total – the highest being 417/2 in the 2009-10 home series against Sri Lanka. Dhawan smashed the rather ordinary Sri Lankan bowling all around the ground, racing to 190 runs off 168 deliveries with 31 boundaries studding his hurricane innings. The 31-year-old Dhawan, who got into the 16-member squad as Murali Vijay was injured, registered his fifth century in Test cricket – a perfect way to send a message to the selectors. It was also his highest score in the five-day format. His opening partner, Abhinav Mukund (12), who got into the playing eleven due to KL Rahul’s illness, however, couldn’t impress the selectors. Mukund struggled a bit, hitting only two boundaries off pacer Lahiru Kumara during his 26-ball stay in the middle. But the left-hander virtually gifted his wicket to Nuwan Pradeep when he decided to go after a ball which moved away slightly after pitching. Pujara joined Dhawan and enjoyed some early luck when he edged Pradeep off the second ball he faced but the ball went for a boundary after landing wide of the slip cordon. Dhawan, however, continued to display excellent form at the other end, finding the fence at regular intervals. Pujara soon settled his nerves and gave Dhawan excellent support at the other end as the former collected runs very quickly and registered his century after the lunch break. Equally aggressive against the spinners, the Delhi batsman further dominated the Sri Lankan bowling after reaching the three-figure mark. Dhawan finally fell when he tried to smash a Pradeep delivery over mid off but mistimed his shot and Angelo Mathews pulled off an easy catch in the first ball of the 55th over. Just after the 10-minute tea break, India suffered a big blow when captain Virat Kohli was caught by wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella, attempting to pull a bouncer from Pradeep, with India at 286/3. Pujara, who was batting on 77 then, was joined by Ajinkya Rahane and the pair played some sedate cricket. Pujara and Rahane took ones and twos as the Sri Lankans stepped up the pressure with their confidence boosted by Kohli’s wicket. Pujara broke the dry patch by despatching veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two fours in the 66th over. And in the fifth ball of the next over, a drive towards mid on off Kumara gave him a two to complete his hundred in 173 deliveries. By that time, Rahane too had a grip on the conditions and he was looking good on 39 not out from 94 deliveries at the end of the day’s play, with Pujara unbeaten on 144 as India look strong for a huge total on the second day.
Highlights India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 1st Test, Day 2: Hosts reach 154/5 at stumps
Catch all the live scores and updates from the Day 2 of first Test between India and Sri Lanka being played at Galle.
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That’s it from us in our coverage of Day 2 of the ongoing first Test between Sri Lanka and India at Galle, and the momentum has shifted distinctly in the latter’s favour. Do return tomorrow for our coverage of Day 3, as we find out if Mathews can inspire a rearguard from the hosts, although the prospect of a follow-on seems almost certain at the moment.
For now, we bid you goodbye!
After 44 overs,Sri Lanka 154/5 ( Angelo Mathews 54 , Dilruwan Perera 6)
Last over of the day, and Jadeja will bowl the 44th. Dilruwan pushes the third ball of the over towards deep cover, and collects three in the process. Mathews sees off the remainder of the over, with four coming off it, as the Lankans finish the second day on a shaky score of 154/5!
It has been India’s day all the way. Their lower-order contributed valuable runs towards the team total, with the visitors reaching the 600-run mark. They followed it up with a good bowling performance, restricting the Lankan batsmen from settling at any given point of time. Had it not been for Tharanga and Mathews, who knows how badly the hosts would have been struggling right now.
After 43 overs,Sri Lanka 150/5 ( Angelo Mathews 53 , Dilruwan Perera 3)
Change of bowling, with Kohli bringing Shami back into the attack with a couple of overs left in the day. Dilruwan pushes the second ball of the over towards the off-side to collect a couple of runs, which brings up the team 150. Just two off the 43rd.
After 42 overs,Sri Lanka 148/5 ( Angelo Mathews 53 , Dilruwan Perera 1)
Ashwin bowls the 42nd over, his 18th in the innings so far. Has been quite the spell for the off-spinner so far. Just one run off the over, with Dilruwan getting off the mark with it.
After 41 overs,Sri Lanka 147/5 ( Angelo Mathews 53 , Dilruwan Perera 0)
Mathews guides the third ball of the 41st over through the covers to bring up his 27th Test fifty, standing tall in a crisis as Sri Lanka stare at conceding a follow-on. Four off the over, with stumps just around the corner.
After 40 overs,Sri Lanka 143/5 ( Angelo Mathews 49 , Dilruwan Perera 0)
Ashwin bowls the 40th over, with Mukund creating another dismissal at silly point, this time by taking a blinder of a catch while diving to his right to collect one off an outside edge off Dickwella’s bat. Dilruwan Perera joins Mathews at the crease, with the Lankans having lost half their side by now, though they effectively are six down thanks to Gunaratne’s injury that has ruled him out of the series.
OUT! Brilliant catch by Mukund — who is doing a fantastic job at silly point — as Dickwella departs for a meagre 8. Getting a wicket with stumps just around the corner puts the Indians back in control! SL 143/5
Dickwella c Mukund b Ashwin 8(15)
After 39 overs,Sri Lanka 143/4 ( Angelo Mathews 49 , Niroshan Dickwella (W) 8)
Jadeja bowls the 39th over — another blink-and-miss over by the left-arm spinner given how quickly he goes through his overs. Just a run off this over, with Dickwella retaining strike for the following over.
After 38 overs,Sri Lanka 142/4 ( Angelo Mathews 49 , Niroshan Dickwella (W) 7)
Ashwin bowls the 38th, and back-to-back boundaries by Mathews in the last two deliveries of this over helps ease the Sri Lankan nerves, though one mis-hit could mean the Indians gaining the mental edge with a late wicket before stumps. Eight off the over, with the captain a run away from getting to his half-century.
After 37 overs,Sri Lanka 134/4 ( Angelo Mathews 41 , Niroshan Dickwella (W) 7)
Jadeja bowls five dots in the 37th over, with Dickwella punishing a poor final delivery — a half-volley outside leg — with a sweep that carries all the way to the long-leg boundary. Four off the over.
After 36 overs,Sri Lanka 130/4 ( Angelo Mathews 41 , Niroshan Dickwella (W) 3)
Ashwin continues from the other end for the 36th over, and Kohli will likely stick to this combination till stumps today. Just three singles off this over, with the current pair not looking to do anything stupid at this stage, with four wickets down.
After 35 overs,Sri Lanka 127/4 ( Angelo Mathews 40 , Niroshan Dickwella (W) 1)
Jadeja bowls the 35th over. Sri Lankan keeper-batsman Niroshan Dickwella joins Mathews at the centre. Just two singles scored in this over — while Dickwella gets himself off the mark with one of those, Mathews moves to 40 with the other.
After 34 overs,Sri Lanka 125/4 ( Angelo Mathews 39 , )
Ashwin into the 34th over of the innings. Tharanga collects a couple of runs at the start of the over off a paddle sweep. Gets himself run out in the last delivery of the over, with Mukund showing amazing reflexes at silly point as he instantly collects and throws the ball back to the keeper after the batsman dances down the pitch and attempts to push it towards the off-side. Pressure’s back on the Lankans with this wicket!
OUT! Mukund and his brilliance at silly point! Shows sharp reflexes once again after Tharanga comes down the track and tries pushing it towards the off side. Would have made his ground had it not been for the fact that his bat bounced off the handle, and was in the air when keeper Saha flicked the bails off. And thus ends the fourth-wicket stand in a rather unusual manner. SL 125/4
Tharanga run out (Mukund) 64(93)
After 33 overs,Sri Lanka 121/3 ( Upul Tharanga 61 , Angelo Mathews 38)
Jadeja bowls the 33rd, and fires another of his shrill appeals in the second delivery of the over for an lbw, though it was missing everything on that occasion. Mathews rocks back, and punches the fourth delivery towards deep cover to bring up the 50-stand with Tharanga.
After 32 overs,Sri Lanka 117/3 ( Upul Tharanga 61 , Angelo Mathews 34)
Ashwin into the 32nd over. Dismissal scare for Tharanga in the third delivery, with Mukund pulling off a superb piece of fielding at silly point to send the charging batsman back into his crease. Maiden for the offie, his first of the innings.
After 31 overs,Sri Lanka 117/3 ( Upul Tharanga 61 , Angelo Mathews 34)
Jadepa into the 31st over. Big appeal for an lbw by Jaddu in the fourth delivery of the over, though the impact was well outside off, and was turned down in an instant. Tharanga gets an inside-edge that carries between forward short-leg and leg slip. Two singles scored in this over. Plenty of chirping from the Indian close-in fielders at the moment.
After 30 overs,Sri Lanka 115/3 ( Upul Tharanga 60 , Angelo Mathews 33)
Ashwin bowls the 30th. Mathews tries a bizarre sweep n the third ball of the over, looking to get a boundary after being tied up for a bit. Except, he hits himself on his helmet with an outside edge. Just one off the over.
After 29 overs,Sri Lanka 114/3 ( Upul Tharanga 60 , Angelo Mathews 32)
Jadeja bowls the 29th over, with the ball starting to grip and turn at the moment. Gets a packed close-in field for himself, with a slip, leg-slip and a forward short-leg in place. First maiden for Jadeja in this innings.
After 28 overs,Sri Lanka 114/3 ( Upul Tharanga 60 , Angelo Mathews 32)
Ashwin bowls the 28th over, with Kohli opting for spin from both ends now. The pitch is starting to act up as well right now, surprising as we are only into the second day of the ongoing Test. Massive appeal for lbw in the fourth delivery of the over, with the Indians deciding to review it after the umpire turns it down. The extra bounce in the delivery results in the third umpire sticking to the decision of his on-field counterpart. Just one run off the over.
After 27 overs,Sri Lanka 113/3 ( Upul Tharanga 59 , Angelo Mathews 32)
Bowling change — Jadeja getting introduced into the attack in the 27th over of the innings. Bowls a peach in the fifth delivery, with the ball deflecting off his pad, inducing appeals from the bowler and close-in fielders. Two off the over.
After 26 overs,Sri Lanka 111/3 ( Upul Tharanga 59 , Angelo Mathews 31)
Ashwin into the 26th over, with Tharanga collecting a double in the second ball of the over, which are the only runs collected in this over. Time for the players to have a drink at the end of this over, with less than an hour left before stumps. Meanwhile, veterans Tharanga and Mathews have forged a promising partnership so far, which is worth 43 so far.
After 25 overs,Sri Lanka 109/3 ( Upul Tharanga 57 , Angelo Mathews 31)
Umesh bowls the 25th over of the Sri Lankan innings, which turns out to be a fruitful one for the hosts. While Mathews guides the penultimate delivery towards extra-cover, bringing up the team 100, before pulling the final delivery over fine-leg to bring up the first six of the Sri Lankan innings. 10 off the over.
After 24 overs,Sri Lanka 99/3 ( Upul Tharanga 57 , Angelo Mathews 21)
Ashwin surprises Tharanga with steep bounce and turn in the first delivery of the over, with the ball going dangerously close to his off-stump in the first delivery of the 24th over. Just two singles off the over.
After 23 overs,Sri Lanka 97/3 ( Upul Tharanga 56 , Angelo Mathews 20)
Umesh returns to the attack in the 23rd over, with Kohli looking to give Shami some rest. Mathews punches the third delivery of the over towards the cover boundary to collect his third four. Tucks the fifth delivery off his hips to guide it towards long-leg and collect a couple of runs. Seven off the over.