Galle: India possibly had one of their best days on a tour as they ended on 399 for three at stumps on day one of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka, here Wednesday. Shikhar Dhawan (190, 168b, 31×4) and Cheteshwar Pujara (144 batting, 247b, 12×4) got hundreds as the visitors dominated proceedings in every session to put the hosts on the backfoot.
It was here only a little more than two years ago, that India had fallen for their lowest score against Sri Lanka. No such hiccups this time around as first Dhawan and Pujara and then Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (39 batting, 94b, 1×4) ground the opposition bowling to dust with nonchalant ease.
Abhinav Mukund (12) and Virat Kohli (3) missed out, but that did not bother India who maintained a four-plus run/over average in the 90 overs bowled during the day. The Sri Lankan bowling, to say the least, looked pedestrian and they seemed doomed the moment stand-in captain Rangana Herath lost the toss.
Sri Lanka have always thrived in this stadium when the opposition have batted fourth. Herath and company know the nature of this pitch better than anyone else, hence they are aware of the gigantic task which awaits them if they have to bat on the fourth and fifth days. Playing with a weakened side, they were hoping that they would at least have the luck of the coin, but once Kohli called correctly, their shoulders dropped.
Their problems were compounded when Asela Gunaratne dropped Dhawan when the batsman was on 31. In the process, Gunaratne fractured his left thumb and was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Mukund perished early caught behind of Nuwan Pradeep (3/64). He was leaden-footed to the ball that straightened off the seam and could only nick it to Niroshan Dickwella. But then that was the last time Sri Lankan players celebrated for a long time as Dhawan and Pujara put on 253 runs for the second wicket. It was India’s best second-wicket partnership for India against Sri Lanka.
The greatness about Pujara is that he is never swayed by what his partner his doing. Dhawan was in a rampaging mood after the lunch hitting the Sri Lankan pacers and spinners at will. He swept the spinners, Herath and Dilruwan Perera (0/103) off their lengths. It is impossible to set a field for Dhawan’s sweep – at times he sweeps them front of square and at other times, he allows the ball to pass him completely before lapping the shot to fine leg. He continued doing that contemptuously in the post lunch session to notch up more than 100 runs in a session – one of the few Indian batsmen to have achieved the feat.
Pujara meanwhile went on giving the strike to Dhawan who easily notched up his fifth Test hundred. From 100 to 150 he took only 37 balls with eight boundaries. Soon he had gone past his best-ever Test score of 187, he got in his debut Test against Australia at Mohali in 2013. But then with a maiden double century in sight, he threw it away hitting down the throat of Angelo Mathews at mid-off with just about five minutes to go for tea. A little bit of caution would have helped, but one cannot chastise Dhawan simply because his buccaneering innings helped India to take command of the Test on the first day of the series itself.
Pujara was his usual self. The deft flick to the mid-wicket fence and the cover drives were two of his most scoring shots. In between he saw Kohli come and go – the Indian skipper tried hooking Pradeep and his faint edge was snapped up by Dickwella. Initially, umpire Bruce Oxenford ruled in the batsman’s favour, but then Sri Lanka used the DRS successfully.
Pujara and Rahane then put on an unfinished 113 runs for the fourth wicket to establish India’s stranglehold. Rahane was unusually circumspect, but Pujara took the pressure off him by keeping the scoreboard ticking.
As things stand, India are well and truly on the way to put up a 500-plus score in the first innings. Once they do that, they will ensure that they don’t lose the game. The onus will then be on Sri Lanka to save the game. With one batsman already short, it now looks a ‘Mission Impossible’ for the hosts.