India were reduced to 14/2 before comeback-man Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli arrested the slide but the duo were frustrated by rain that ruled out any possibility of play after 15 overs on Day 1. Will the tourists dominate Sri Lanka’s bowlers on Day 2 of the final Test? Catch live updates and scores here: (Live Scorecard | Day 1 Report | Photos)
1348 hrs IST: WICKET! Naman Ojha’s debut innings ends on 21. Pretty immature and irresponsible shot. Floated outside off, Ojha gets down and looks to slog sweep but does not hit it cleanly. Upul Tharanga at long on takes a dolly. Can’t say that shot was on. There was a long on in place and one need not have taken that man on. TYharindu Kaushal breaks the 54-run stand.
1324 hrs IST: Naman Ojha has looked promising in his debut innings. He is playing with a lot of positive approach and run scoring has been good. Ojha and Pujara have shared 34 runs for the sixth wicket so far.
1243 hrs IST: Stuart Binny out for a duck. Gone first ball! Prasad is on a roll. No looseners. Comes running in hard, delivers a length ball outside off, gets it to nip back in and Stuart Binny hangs back to defend. Misses the incoming one and is hit on the pads. Prasad appeals and umpire Nigel Llong seldom takes long to give his decisions. Up goes his right forefinger in a flash.
1203 hrs IST: LUNCH! A wicket in the last over before lunch, swings the pendulum in the hosts’ favour. Initially in the first hour, Prasad and Pradeep bowled well and Kohli struggled to score against them. He was beaten outside his off stump many a time and eventually the Lankan skipper got him caught behind. The comeback man, Cheteshwar Pujara was slow early on but then he picked up his scoring rate and scored three boundaries of Tharindu Kaushal’s first over. Rohit Sharma was looking good until the last over before lunch. A good session for Sri Lanka, in short. We will be back in a while for the post-lunch session.
1200 hrs IST: WICKET! Rohit Sharma departs for 26. Finally, Prasad gets a wicket. Bowling the same line has paid off. It’s bowled on a length and around off, Rohit pokes at it and induces an edge. The ball flies towards first slip where Tharanga pouches a regulation catch. That will also be lunch on Day 2.
Cheteshwar Pujara in action at SSC Colombo.
© BCCI
1146 hrs IST: FIFTY! Cheteshwar Pujara scores his seventh half-century off 127 balls. A good knock from the opener. He struggled initially in his innings but managed not to throw away the opportunity has has got.
1138 hrs IST: Tharindu Kaushal comes into the attack for the first time in the match and hammered away for 12 runs — hat-trick of fours — by Cheteshwar Pujara.
1110 hrs IST: Rohit Sharma is looking confident in his approach and is not shy of punishing the odd balls. So far he has hit a couple of fours and a six in his innings.
1102 hrs IST: DRINKS BREAK! India have certainly struggled in the first hour of play. They have lost their captain and Pujara has not looked confident against some quality bowling from Prasad and Pradeep.
1027 hrs IST: WICKET! Virat Kohli departs for 18. All the hard work done in the first 45 minutes has gone in vain. It’s a soft dismissal but it’s a big technical flaw in the game of Kohli. James Anderson exposed him in England and Angelo Mathews has taken the same clue here to remove his counterpart. He just puts it on a full length outside off and gets it to shape away ever so slightly. Out of habit, Kohli commits himself on the front foot and then needlessly plays at it away from his body. The ball moves away and takes the outside edge along with it. Kusal Perera makes no mistake this time.
1020 hrs IST: Indian batsmen have been watchful so far in the session. Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep are keeping things tight and giving nothing away.
0945 hrs IST: Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli are out in the middle. Dhammika Prasad to start proceedings on Day 2.
0930 hrs IST: It’s bright and sunny morning at SSC Colombo. It’s a 15 minutes early start today and 98 overs are scheduled to be bowled.
Virat Kohli in action against Sri Lanka at SSC Colombo.
© Reuters
It has come down to the final four days of what has been a fascinating Test series so far. After Sri Lanka snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in Galle, India ruined Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell party at the P. Sara Oval with an comprehensive win. As things stand now, the series is level at 1-1. The Indian camp would have gasped in horror when Sri Lanka’s new-ball operators removed their centurions from the last match – Lokesh Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane well within the first hour.
But heavy showers not long after pushed everyone inside, spoiling a possible brilliant counterattack led by Pujara and Kohli. By 3.00 PM, when the umpires decided to schedule more inspection, the damage had been done. The rain was so intense that play had to be called off. But this Indian team is known for its aggression and a typical Kohli knock and some support from the rest could set things up wonderfully for India’s in-form bowlers.
For Sri Lanka, there is plenty at stake – this is their first Test after Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement and the hosts have to show they are ready for the future. Can their young guns step and capitalize on the early wickets on Friday? An interesting weekend is at store provided the rain stays away.
Both teams would hope for some dry spell here. According to the met department, bad weather is predicted for the next four days.
Sanjay Bangar Hails India’s Flexible Batting
India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar on Friday lauded his batsmen for adapting quickly to team’s requirements by coming out to bat at any position they are asked to. “All the batsmen are willing to bat at any position which is a big plus of this team,” said Bangar after the first day’s play of the third Test between India and Sri Lanka, which was a near-complete wash out due to persistent rain on Friday. (Read full story)
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