IND v SL, 3rd Test, Day 4 Review: India in complete control as Jadeja strikes with the ball

Dinesh Chandimal’s sensational exploits ensured Sri Lanka posted a decent first innings total, which made India bat again on day 4. Nevertheless, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli notched quickfire half-centuries and a 410-run target was imposed on the Lankans, which seems to be quite a hefty one for them.

It took some time for the Indian bowlers to get Chandimal out and since the skipper was in an overdrive mode, he stole a few boundaries. Although the frustration levels were creeping up, the Indians kept their cool and eventually, their hard work paid off. Chandimal got out for 164and Sri Lanka posted 373 in 135.3 overs. Incidentally, they scored 163 runs less than India but played approximately nine overs more than the hosts.

Batting for the second time, Sri Lanka struck early in the innings, sending Vijay back in the 3rd over. Kohli decided to send the out of form Ajinkya Rahane at number 3, a move which totally backfired. He never got going and in India’s pursuit to score quick runs, he failed to contribute significantly. Rahane was dismissed by Dilruwan Perera for 10 runs off 37 balls.

When Pujara joined Dhawan in the middle, the duo hammered the bowlers to all parts. They kept rotating the strike and picking ones and two at regular intervals to escalate the scoring rate. It was an atypical knock from Pujara, who showed a different side of his game. Dhawan clobbered a half-century and Pujara fell just 1 run short of 50 and got dismissed by Dhananjaya de Silva.

Kohli and Rohit pile up more agony

Skipper Virat Kohli had to complete another breakfast routine at the Kotla, as he slaughtered the Lankan bowlers. He and Rohit Sharma scored ones and twos for fun as Chandimal, with the mask on, was frustrated to the peaks. India’s scoring rate went a notch above 4.5, which is exactly what they wanted at this point in time.

Virat Kohli reached his half-century and whilst attempting an aerial shot, he got dismissed. Rohit Sharma too completed a fifty and with India scoring 246/5 in 52.2 overs, the skipper the called the innings off and Sri Lanka had a mammoth 410 runs target in front of them. It was a poor bowling display again from the visitors despite picking up 5 wickets. A few quick wickets were what the Indians wanted and that’s exactly what they got.

Jadeja on a roll; Visitors staring at a defeat

Sri Lankan opening batsmen faced the new ball music bravely, despite failing to score runs at a good pace. Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami made the ball move a lot, which troubled them, but they had to wait till the sixth over to strike first blood. Mohammed Shami bowled a brutal bouncer, which was just too good for Samarawickrama and Rahane took a simple catch. The batsman even wasted a review, expecting something outrageous from the technology.

Karunaratne and Dhananjaya de Silva tried playing the day out, but Jadeja wasn’t pleased with a single wicket to get to stumps. He chipped in with a couple of wickets towards the end of the day. Firstly, Karunaratne nicked the ball to the keeper and Nightwatchman Suranga Lakmal lasted just three deliveries as Jadeja knocked his stumps away.

Sri Lanka is still 379 runs behind their target and it seems highly unlikely for them to get anywhere close. Going by India’s standards and recent performances, they should be pulling off a simple win on day 5.

Brief Scores

India first innings: 536/7 declared in 127.5 overs

Sri Lanka first innings: 373 in 135.3 overs(Angelo Mathews 111, Dinesh Chandimal 164*; Ravichandran Ashwin 3/90, Ravindra Jadeja 3/86, Ishant Sharma 3/98)

India second innings: 246/5 declared in 52.2 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 67, Virat Kohli 50, Rohit Sharma 50)

Sri Lanka second innings: 31/3 in 16 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 2/5)