Sri Lanka v India, 1st Test, Day 1, CT Player of the Day - Shikhar Dhawan

India have begun the tour of Sri Lanka on the brightest note possible, having scored 399 runs for the loss of just 3 wickets on the very first day of the first Test. The visitors smashed the clueless Lankan bowlers all over the park. Shikhar Dhawan, in particular, enjoyed his day out in the middle as he scored his 5th Test century for India. The century also marked his second Test ton against Sri Lanka at the Galle Stadium.

Having won the toss, Indian skipper, Virat Kohli opted to bat first on a pitch that turned out to be a batsman’s paradise. The opener, Abhinav Mukund fell cheaply for 12 runs as he edged a fuller delivery outside the off-stump from Nuwan Pradeep to wicketkeeper, Niroshan Dickwella. But this was the only breakthrough Sri Lanka achieved till the 55th over, as Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara consolidated and extended their stay on the turf. Although Pradeep maintained a tight line and length, he was let down by Lahiru Kumara at the other end, who bowled with a higher economy of 5.94 throughout the first day.

Shikhar made merry off each and every bowler who came at him on his Test return. Having been dropped on the last delivery of the 14th over, the left-handed batsman made no mistake and converted his solid start to a mammoth inning, with the correct balance of composure and aggression. He, however, fell short of his first Test double hundred by 10 runs as he was dismissed for 190 runs off 168 balls.

Dhawan gets a lifeline

The left-handed opener had hit five lovely boundaries off Pradeep, Kumara and Dilruwan Perera before he had to face a beamer. Lahiru Kumara was reprimanded by the umpire for bowling an extremely high, full toss after the ball slipped out of his hand and luckily for Dhawan, he was able to duck underneath it. On the very next delivery, the opener tried to hit a cover drive on the last delivery of the 14th over and almost gifted his wicket to the prowling second slip fielder.

However, luck was in the favour of Dhawan as Asela Gunaratne put down the dolly of a catch. The delivery was full and outside the line of off-stump, tempting Dhawan to go for the drive. Gunaratne also fractured his thumb in the process and had to leave the field, has been ruled out of the series while Dhawan flourished on the back of this missed chance.

Lankan bowlers fail to stem the flow of runs

The Sri Lankan bowlers, pacers and spinners alike, looked helpless against the duo of Dhawan and Pujara as the two went on piling runs. The southpaw scored at a brisk pace, that looked like a One-Day International (ODI) inning rather than a Test knock. After having scored his first half-century since July 2016, the 31-year-old batsman kept his nerve and scored 64 runs steadily till before lunch was taken by the teams.

The post-lunch session saw Dhawan’s ruthless batting skills come to the fore. As Cheteshwar Pujara provided him with the necessary support from the other end, Dhawan played every shot in the book ranging from regulation sweeps to late cuts and glorious cover drives. He brought up his 5th Test century in style with a sweep shot that drove the ball beyond the boundary line behind square leg. Incidentally, this was also his 2nd Test ton against Sri Lanka at the same venue. He had previously scored 134 runs against the Lankans at the Galle Stadium back in August 2015.

Falls short of his maiden Test double ton

He looked ominous for the Ranagana Herath-led side as the dasher scored steadily and looked to reach his maiden double ton in Test cricket before the Tea break on the first day. However, the juggernaut fell short by a mere 10 runs as he was caught by Angelo Mathews, off Pradeep. The bowler bowled wide outside off and Dhawan tried to whack him over mid-off, but got it close to the bottom of the bat and lobbed it for a simple catch to Mathews.

He went back to the pavilion amidst applause from the dressing room as well as the crowd for his superb knock of 190 (168). Notably, the Gabbar of Indian cricket obtained 31 boundaries in his innings laced with panache, with a humongous strike rate of 113.10.

Pujara remained unbeaten at 144 runs at the end of the first day, while Ajinkya Rahane scored 39 runs, not out, giving India a healthy total of 399/3 at stumps on Day 1. What remains to be seen if India can reap the benefits from here on and start off the series with a 1-0 lead.