Twin tons put India in command at Feroz Shah Kotla
New Delhi: Records fell by the wayside as Indian batsmen plundered the Sri Lankan bowling to reach 371 for four at stumps on the opening day of the third Test match at the Feroz Shah Kotla here, Saturday. Skipper Virat Kohli (156 batting, 186b, 16×4) and Murali Vijay (155, 267b, 13×4) decimated the opposition bowlers with clinical precision to take their side to a position from which they can’t lose and on the doorsteps of a record-equalling ninth successive Test series win.
The Sri Lankan bowlers, who at the best can be termed ordinary, toiled during Kohli and Vijay’s 283-run stand for the third wicket. Against a pace and spin attack that did not have either penetration or discipline, the two scored at will. In the process Vijay notched up his 11th ton in the longest format of the game, while Kohli got his 20th. It was successive centuries for both, the two had scored tons in the only Test that India had batted at Nagpur.
Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara – both of whom after scoring 23 apiece must now be ruing getting out after settling in. The two definitely missed out on big runs. However, Ajinkya Rahane’s (1) horror against slow bowlers continued, as he was stumped off chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan (2/110) with 15 balls remaining in the day.
Such was the pathetic display by the Sri Lankan bowlers, that skipper Dinesh Chandimal could not set a proper field for them. If he arranged fielders on the off-side, bowlers invariably bowled leg-stump or thereabouts. And when he adopted a leg-side theory, the bowlers allowed Kohli and Vijay to hit them through the off-side. One former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator said, “This attack wouldn’t be able to make it to a mediocre Ranji Trophy side.” He was not far from the truth.
If Kohli intimidated the Sri Lankans with his range of strokes, the sublime Vijay punished them with a innumerable cuts throughout the day.
While stacking up some amazing numbers before the South Africa series would do a world of good in terms of confidence for the batsmen, it would be interesting to see how much of a help it is in terms of preparation for alien conditions in the ‘Rainbow Nation’ in just about a month’s time.
Vijay was finally stumped off Sandakan delivery giving the visitors something to cheer about towards the fag end of the day. The other wickets were picked up by medium pacer Lahiru Gamage (1/68) and off-spinner Dilruwan Perera (1/97) who got rid of Dhawan. It was Perear’s 100th wicket in Tests.
Key facts
1 – Kohli became the first captain to hit three successive centuries in a three-Test series. He got 104 n o in Kolkata, 213 at Nagpur and currently batting on 156 at Feroz Shah Kotla
4 – Kohli 4th fastest Indian to the 5,000-run milestone in Tests. He took 105 innings. Sunil Gavaskar (85 innings), Virender Sehwag (95) and Sachin Tendulkar (103) took fewer innings
11 – No of Test hundred scored by Kohli in a season, one less than Sachin Tendulkar’s 12