IND vs SL Highlights And Updates 1st Test Day 3: A dominant India crushed Sri Lanka inside three days for an innings and 222-run win in the series opener played in Mohali. After being forced to follow-on, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 178 with Ravindra Jadeja taking four wickets in the second innings and nine overall in the contest to follow his record 175 not out. It might have been Virat Kohli’s 100th Test but Read More
Key Events
WICKET! India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in first Test. Ravichandran Ashwin takes the final Lankan wicket to fall in Lahiru Kumara who holes out to Mohammed Shami. He scored 4 off 14. Sri Lanka bowled out for 178 in their second innings. Niroshan Dickwella unbeaten on 51. India take 1-0 in the two-match series.
Niroshan Dickwella completes a fighting half-century. Took him 78 deliveries to reach the milestone. Sri Lanka 173/9, trail by 227 runs.
You have to feel for Lahiru Kumara who has walked out to bat despite hamstring issue. And worse, Niroshan Dickwella has forced him to take a quick single.
WICKET! This looks plumb. India finally have Vishwa Fernando on strike and Mohammed Shami beats him in the inside edge and the umpire raises the finger. However, Fernando goes for the DRS which cannot save him. He walks back for a duck. Sri Lanka 170/9 in 54 overs, trail by 230 runs.
India have lost a review. They were sure of an edge so went for the review, But ultra-edge shows on spike when the ball passed the bat. And umpire now check for lbw but the impact was outside off. Niroshan Dickwella then steps out to send the ball to mid-wicket for a boundary. Score 161/8 (f/o)
WICKET! So Ravindra Jadeja breaks another partnership that was frustrating India. Lasith Embuldeniya goes on the backfoot and gets a thick outside edge as Rishabh Pant takes brilliant low catch to end his resistance on 2 off 42. Sri Lanka 153/8 in 51 overs, trail by 247 runs.
So seemingly the light has improved enough for the umpires to allow Indians to insert few overs of pacers. Mohammed Shami returns for another spell. He has taken two wickets so far in this contest but they don’t reveal how superb he has been.
Well, Rohit Sharma wanted to give his pacers a go but the umpires say the light isn’t bright enough for them to operate. After a brief discussion with the umpires, India bring back Ravichandran Ashwin into the attack. Floodlights are currently on FYI. Sri Lanka 140/7 (f/o), trail by 260 runs.
Ravichandran Ashwin has become the second-highest wicket-taker in Indian Test history
#Anil Kumble – 619 #R Ashwin – 435* #Kapil Dev – 434 #Harbhajan -417 #Zaheer Khan/Ishant Sharma – 311
So Ravindra Jadeja has been taken off the attack immediately after bowling a double-wicket maiden. Surprising tactics from Rohit Sharma as he brings back Jayant Yadav who is yet to take a wicket in the contest. Niroshan Dickwella and Lasith Embuldeniya are the two Sri Lankan batters, Score 130/7 (f/o) in 42 overs, trail by 270 runs.
WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja strikes twice in the same over. Suranga Lakmal has been dismissed for a second duck with a span of few hours today. He went for an ugly hoick and ends up being caught by Jayant Yadav at mid-on. Sri Lanka 121/7 (f/o) in 36.5 overs, trail by 279 runs
WICKET! Ravindra Jadeja also strikes in his first over after tea-break. That’s low and hits Angelo Mathews in front of the wicket. This looks plumb. The umpire raises the index finger but Mathews reviews. No edge and the ball trackers says it would have hit the middle. Mathews scored 28. Sri Lanka 121/6 in 36.2 overs.
WICKET! Ravichandran Ashwin has struck early again. An excellent delivery from the offspinner as he invites Charith Asalanka forward but the extra bounce means the ball lifts after kissing his glove with the wicketkeeper deflecting it for Virat Kohli at first slip. Asalanka scored 20. Sri Lanka 121/5 in 29.5 overs, trail by 279 runs.
We are back for the third and final session today. Sri Lanka ended the second session with some fireworks as Charith Asalanka took 20 runs off a Ravindra Jadeja over.
TEA-BREAK. Sri Lanka have looted 20 runs off the final over before the tea-break, bowled by Ravindra Jadeja. Charith Asalnka has clubbed two sixes and as many fours in the over to race to 20 off 7. SL 120/4 in 35 overs, trail IND by 280 runs.
WICKET! It’s that man again who brings India the breakthrough they were looking for. The partnership between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva grew to 49 and was frustrating the Indians. Jadeja bowls flat and short as De Silva ends up lobbing it to Shreyas Iyer at extra cover. He was batting well, scored 30 off 58. Sri Lanka 94/4 in 32.5 overs.
Ravindra Jadeja draws an outside edge from the bat of Dhananjaya de Silva but it races away to the left of Rohit Sharma at first slip even though he sticks out his hands hopelessly to catch it. It results in a four. And Jadeja doesn’t look happy. De Silva reaches 27 off 52. Angelo Mathews on 20*. Score 90/3, trail by 310 runs.
So Ravindra Jadeja has also been brought into the attack as well. Dhananjaya de Silva has just scored his second boundary with a flick off Jadeja to mid-wicket. He’s moved to 21 off 38 and he has the experienced Angelo Mathews (20*) for company. Sri Lanka 80/3 in 27 over, trail by 320 runs
So after 23 overs, Jasprit Bumrah has finally been given the ball to bowl his first over of the second innings A quiet phase of the day with Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva battling after three early blows to the Sri Lankan innings. Score 69/3 in 23 overs.
Mohammed Shami has been joined by Jayant Yadav into the attack now. Still no signs of introducing Jasprit Bumrah or Ravindra Jadeja yet. Shami has bowled four overs for 1/20 while Jayant has six wicketless overs for 16 runs. Angelo Mathews has got the start – batting on 17 off 28 and with him is Dhananjaya de Silva on 9*. Score 65/3, trail by 335 runs.
Day 2 Recap
Ravindra Jadeja paid a fitting tribute to one of his earliest mentors Shane Warne with a majestic 175 not out as India took complete command of the opening Test against Sri Lanka with a mammoth first innings total of 574/8 declared on the second day in Mohali.
Jadeja or the Indian team management didn’t feel that the all-rounder needed to go for a double hundred as hosts declared their innings after quite literally batting Sri Lanka out of the game.
In the final session, Ravichandran Ashwin (61 off 82 balls, 2/21), having nicely warmed up with his 12th half-century, removed Lahiru Thirimanne and Dhananjaya De Silva to go past Sir Richard Hadlee’s 431 victims.
Jadeja (1/30) later celebrated his hundred once again by trapping Sri Lanka’s best player and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (28) leg before.
Jasprit Bumrah (1/20) disposed off Angelo Mathews to leave them tottering at 108 for 4 as a three-day finish looked imminent. Sri Lanka still needs 267 runs to avoid follow-on.
Jadeja’s career-best knock, his second ton in Test cricket, came less than 24 hours after the cricket world tried to come to terms with Warne’s tragic end.
It was Warne, who first realised Jadeja’s untapped batting potential during Rajasthan Royals’ 2008 Indian Premier League campaign, where it was his late hitting that earned him the ‘Rockstar’ moniker from his mentor-captain.
Jadeja, over the years, has been one of the indispensable all-format players for India in Test cricket and more so for his batting abilities that make him a better package than Ashwin in overseas conditions.
On the day, he was at his imperious best as India scored 217 runs in two sessions because of his attacking batting.
It did help that Sri Lanka were a pacer short with their fastest bowler Lahiru Kumara left indisposed due to a hamstring injury. He failed to complete his 11th over and over dependence on inexperienced Lasith Embuldeniya (46-3-188-2) also harmed their cause.
Jadeja, in all, batted for five and half hours, faced 228 balls and by the time he walked back to the pavilion, he had hit 17 fours and three sixes.
A partnership of 130 with Ashwin for the seventh wicket and another 103 runs with Mohammed Shami (20 not out) for the unbroken ninth wicket basically nailed Sri Lanka.
However, Karunaratne’s captaincy and his field placings left a lot to be desired as not for once during the course of the two days, did it look that the islanders want to compete.
It was a very defensive game and the gulf between India and Sri Lanka was so evident in the manner, the two teams approached the match.
Jadeja and Ashwin made India look proactive while Sri Lanka despite the hammering that they received weren’t even reactive.
Bowling to Jadeja with a deep mid-wicket, long-off/on, deep extra cover and deep fine leg with an aim to stop the boundaries was a negative approach and it didn’t really make much of a difference.
The 58 boundaries and seven sixes conceded during the course of the innings tells a story.
Save veteran seamer Suranga Lakmal (2/90), none of the other bowlers pitched it in the right areas. The ones on the hips were tucked fine enough to beat the fielder stationed at mid-wicket boundary and half volleys were dispatched through the right of mid-off.
The short balls were pulled fine enough and when it was tossed up, he lofted it straight into the stands.
In between, he refused the singles to shield Shami from strike. The customary sword celebration at 50, 100 and 150 brought a round applause from the crowd.
Such was the plight of the Lankan fielders that Embuldeniya couldn’t even pick up and throw the ball to keeper Niroshan Dickwella when Mohammed Shami had literally come down to the non-striker’s end.
Dickwella was angry and he let the bowler know about his frustration.
In general, the Lankans never looked competitive with India scoring runs at 4.43 runs per over during the entire course of 129.2 overs.
Often an uneven contest between bat and ball becomes extremely boring and the first two days of this Test match once again would raise a debate whether it’s about time for the ICC to mull on having a two-tier Test system to make it more appealing for the fans.
Abject surrender by any international team is bad advertisement for Test cricket and even more so a reluctant bunch, which Karunaratne’s men are currently looking like.
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