Nagpur: A day before the game, Virat Kohli had said that the places of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were not guaranteed in the playing XI in away tours as the pitches there tend to help the pacers. The spin twins however, made a point by putting up impressive performances on a pitch with a green tinge at the VCA Stadium here Friday.
Ashwin (4/67) and Jadeja (3/56) helped India bundle out Sri Lanka for 205 after the visitors had decided to bat on winning the toss. Both demonstrated they had the requisite skill set to trouble opposition batsmen even on green tops with their variety and bounce. And above all, both gave skipper Kohli plenty to think about. At stumps, India were 11/1 with KL Rahul back in the hut, bowled off the inside edge, by Lahiru Gamage.
Ishant Sharma (3/37) had given India the ideal start by making early breakthroughs. Drafted into the playing XI at the last minute in place of an injured Mohammed Shami, Ishant staked his claims for the team to South Africa, bowling a nagging outside-off line which had Sri Lankan batters groping.
That the Indians were thinking about South Africa was evident they named the XI bringing Rohit Sharma back into the Test squad for Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India are aware that they may need six batsmen when they tour Protealand, and hence decided to give some game time to the Mumbaikar.
However, it was Ashwin and Jadeja who dominated proceedings. Except for a fourth wicket stand of 62 runs between Dimuth Karunaratne (51, 147b, 6×4) and skipper Dinesh Chandimal (57, 122b, 4×4, 1×6), none of the other Sri Lankans had the technique and mindset to handle the guile of Ashwin and Jadeja. Some of them were reckless too – like the shot Nirosan Dickwella (24, 30b, 4×4) played to get out.
Attempting an over-the-top slog against Jadeja, Dickwella holed out to Ishant at mid-off. He failed to get to the pitch of the ball because of Jadeja’s speed and could only grasp his head in disbelief as the ball looped up into thin air. Chandimal was also guilty of playing an atrocious reverse sweep against Ashwin when circumspection was the order of the day. The review declared him plumb in front
The four wickets on the day took Ashwin’s Test tally to 296, another four in the next three winnings will make him quickest to the 300-wicket mark. An uncanny bowler, with varieties spread across his fingers, he was certainly at his marauding best Friday.
Agencies
