Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test day 1 review: Honours shared after Rahul’s ton

Sri Lanka v India 2nd Test day 1 review: Honours shared after Rahul’s ton: Can Virat and his men script a turnaround? Can Sanga get a winning farewell? These were the queries amidst which the second Test in Colombo began on Thursday. All the hype ahead of the game was to take the back seat as India and Sri Lanka stepped on the P Sara Oval. And seeing the first day it could be safely argued that cricket took the centrestage. A 164-run partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli steered India out of trouble, after the two early strikes by Dhammika Prasad who extracted all of the juice from the Colombo track. The visitors ended the day on 319/6 loosing a set Rohit Sharma in the last over.

Earlier Virat won the toss and had no hesitation in batting while Angelo suggested the hosts would have bowled anyway. India made three changes to the side that took the field in Galle. Murali Vijay, Stuart Binny and Umesh Yadav came in for Shikhar Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh and Varun Aaron while Sri Lanka had a forced change as Pradeep wasn’t fit.

Vijay had a forgettable return from injury as Prasad sent him back on a duck. There was definitely something in the pitch for the seam bowlers in the first hour but Sri Lanka bowled quite a number of deliveries that batsmen could leave alone. One such delivery, which could have been easily left alone, consumed Rahane when he reached out to it looking to drive and ended up edging it to Karunaratne at third slip.

Dushmantha Chameera should have had a wicket off his first over. The young man with a reputation of being seriously quick got the ball to bounce off an awkward length and had Rahul fending. The outside edge flew at a comfortable height to Jehan Mubarak at gully, who dropped a simple chance. That proved a costly miss as Rahul later went on to score a brilliant century.

Kohli’s arrival after the loss of 2 wickets marked a sign of intent from India. Playing some delightful drives the skipper ensured the visitors did not go into their shell after the early setbacks. Rahul supported him well and the duo played with determination and grit to take India to a comfortable position. As Kohli and Lokesh Rahul grew in confidence against the medium pacers, Mathews chose to mix it up by bringing in the lynch pin Rangana Herath in to the attack. But both of them appeared to have decided to go after Herath, a ploy that worked because of the lack of aid from the surface. India went past 150 and the partnership looked set to make it count. Rahul, in particular, was a lot more adventurous with his shot making, bringing out the sweep and paddle-sweeps quite frequently.

Tharindu Kaushal played the supporting act well in that second innings in Galle but here on a day 1 track, the offie was guilty of offering loose deliveries far too often to the Indian batsmen.

Just when Sri Lanka seemed lost for ideas, Kohli fell against the run of play. A moment of brilliance on the field by Mathews who took an excellent diving catch at first slip brought about his downfall. It was the end of a 164-run stand and Sri Lanka’s chance to get back into the game.

The arrival of the out of form Rohit Sharma gave Mathews an opportunity to bring in some close in fielders. However, on a pitch that hid no real demons, Rohit Sharma was more assured with his footwork.

KL Rahul completed his second Test ton soon after the Tea break, one he will cherish for a long time. Chameera’s persistence with the short ball though paid dividends when he had centurion KL Rahul top-edging an attempted hook. Just when it looked like Rohit and Binny would look to see India through the day’s play without losing any more wickets, Binny needlessly attempted to step out and hit Rangana Herath over the top only to find mid off.

Wriddhiman Saha joined Rohit at the crease and the duo managed to survive a few close moments and shared a fifty partnership. In the process, Rohit also registered his 3rd Test fifty. One has to credit Rohit as he played sensibly without attempting fancy shots. However, in what was eventually to be the last over of the day, he misread an incoming delivery from Mathews and was trapped right in front.

The wicket of Rohit at the stroke of stumps has put Sri Lanka slightly ahead. India could have been in a much better position had a few of their batsmen not gifted their wickets away. The hosts will now look to capitalize on the opening they have got. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how Saha and the lower-order cope up with the pressure tomorrow.

The pitch offered assistance in the first session but as the ball went old, batsmen looked at ease, though there was some reverse swing as well. Sri Lanka will look to dismiss India as early as possible, while the visitors are looking set for a 400 plus score. If they manage to do so we have an interesting game at our hands.

Brief Scores:

India won the toss and chose to bat

India 1^st innings – 319/6,  (Rahul 108, Rohit 79;  Prasad 2-53)