On the Day 1 of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Nagpur, pacer Ishant once gaon proved his worth by picking up 3 wickets as India bundled out Sri Lanka for a meager 205.
At stumps, India was placed at 11/1, trailing by 194 runs with 9 wickets in hand. While Murali Vijay was unbeaten on 2, Cheteshwar Pujara is also batting on 2. The Lankan pacers Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage bowled tight lengths as Gamage even rattled KL Rahul’s (7) stumps. But Vijay and Pujara seem to be waiting for a long day on Saturday.
Nagpur pitch was in complete contrast to the seaming track in the opening Test in Kolkata, but the lanky pacer showed great consistency to finish with figures of 3/37 from his 14 overs with 3 maidens. More than the wickets column, it was the consistency in the areas he bowled which kept the opposition batsmen on their feet.
However, the bowling performances of R Ashwin (4/67) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/56) were also memorable. unfortunately, Umesh Yadav didn’t pick any wickets at his home ground despite bowling a tight line right through the day.
After winning the toss, Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal decided to bat first on what looked like a batting paradise. But the visiting batsmen seemed to go into the shell no sooner than Ishant sent back Sadeera Samarawickrama for 13. After this, it was all about going into the shell for Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne. They kept defending the Indian bowlers even as the wicket looked anything but threatening. But a sudden rush of blood saw Thirimanne (9) attempt a sweep and Ashwin’s ball missed the bat and disturbed the wickets.
With the score reading 2/44, Angelo Mathews walked in to join Karunaratne and the two batted with some intent. But Jadeja soon bowled a gem of a delivery which held its line after pitching and trapped Mathews (10) in front just when he was looking like he wanted to up the ante.
Chandimal joined Karunaratne as the latter brought up his 14th Test half-century. But his joy was short-lived as he was caught plumb in front by Ishant. It was clearly a result of pitching the ball consistently in the good length area and frustrating the Lankan batsmen.
Karunaratne’s dismissal brought Niroshan Dickwella on the pitch and it looked like the duo of Dickwella and Chandimal would bat the game away from the hosts. But one false shot from Dickwella (24) off Jadeja, went straight to Ishant at mid-off. Trying to hit against the turn, all he managed to do was top-edge it.
Chandimal batted his way to a fifty, his 14th in Test cricket, but soon after that Dasun Shanaka (2), who completely misread the line from Ashwin — and Dilruwan Perera’s (15) — trapped plumb by Jadeja — failure to stand ground with the skipper saw Chandimal try a reverse sweep. But the skipper missed the ball and the review went in India’s favor as Lanka’s score read a dismal 8/184.
After that Chandimal’s dismissal, it was all about cleaning up the tail and while Ishant picked up Lakmal for 17, Ashwin took no time to dismiss Rangana Herath for 4. Batting just 79.1 overs on a flat track can never be an excuse and the Indian batsmen look set to make their counterparts realise that as they gear up for a smashing display on the Day 2.
