Daijiworld Media Network
Galle, Aug 13 : It's an important day for Sri Lanka more than India because if they don't do well today, they could be well behind in the game. Hello and a warm welcome to Day 2 of the Galle Test. If you were an Indian cricket fan, you hardly had anything to complain yesterday as Virat Kohli and Co. played quality cricket and outclassed the Lankan boys.
So that ends proceedings on the opening day of the Cricbuzz Cup. Can Sri Lanka put up an inspired effort tomorrow and prevent India from gaining a big first innings lead? Join us back for all the action from Day 2.
Poor strokes, a bad decision, unplayable deliveries, a couple of outstanding catches - nothing went Sri Lanka's way on Day 1 as their batsmen showed poor application to play good bowling. Barring skipper Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, none of the top or middle-order batsmen were ready to spend time in the middle. The bowling too wasn't exactly as impressive as the Indians as they offered a freebie almost every over.
Ravichandran Ashwin kept it very simple, without trying many variations and was rewarded with as many as six Sri Lankan wickets. He gave the ball a lot of air-time and the pitch, which had enough in it for the spinners, did the rest. It also has to be said that the opening spell from both Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron too was impressive as the pace duo hit the right areas more often than not.
Dhammika Prasad, the spearhead of Sri Lanka's attack, then gave them a glimmer of hope by trapping KL Rahul in front. Mathews chipped in by dismissing Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli and Dhawan though, played with assuredness to make sure that they won't lose anymore wickets. Dhawan even composed his third Test fifty. The hosts would rue the fact that Mathews dropped a tough chance at first slip off Tharindu Kaushal's bowling. Dhawan was the lucky batsman on that occasion. Sri Lanka need a slew of wickets on day 2 to keep themselves in the game. They also would look up to Kaushal, the off-spinner, to put up a better show with the ball. He was largely disappointing on day 1. For India, they will hope that the overnight pair of Kohli and Dhawan can continue to score runs at a brisk pace and consolidate their advantage.
Only Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal played with a calm head on their shoulders to compose fifties. Indian seamers, Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron, bowled aggressively with the new ball and ended up with a wicket apiece. Amit Mishra picked up a couple of scalps too. India's fielding was good in patches. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul showed sharp reflexes to take crucial catches. However, Shikhar Dhawan and Saha spilled a chance each. Dhawan though, made up for it, by taking a fine catch to dismiss Kaushal Silva.
On a day when 12 wickets tumbled, it was the visitors, who found themselves in the ascendancy. It was the bowlers, who bowled incisively to jolt Sri Lanka at regular intervals. Ashwin, with his flight and guile, was the wrecker-in-chief, and he took a 6-for. It turned out to be his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests. Most of Sri Lanka's batsmen didn't have much of a clue, while facing up to him.