Sri Lanka vs India 2017: 3rd Test day 1, 5 talking points
India continued their dominance over Sri Lanka in the ongoing 3-match Test series. After winning the toss for the third time in a row, the Indian captain, Virat Kohli opted to bat for the third successive time.
The Indian openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, continued their fine form and gave India the perfect start to the Test with Dhawan scoring the bulk of the runs. However, India then lost quick wickets, ending the day’s play at 329 for the loss of six wickets.
For Sri Lanka, Lakshan Sandakan, the left arm chinaman, and Malinda Pushpakumara were the stars of the day. The duo picked up five of the six wickets that fell.
The strong fightback from the hosts has set up the game nicely, unlike the previous games where the Indian middle order batsmen struck big partnerships.
For the visitors, there was only one change. Kuldeep Yadav was roped into the side replacing Ravindra Jadeja, who was suspended. On the other hand, the hosts were forced to make two changes as their two premium bowlers, Nuwan Pradeep and Rangana Herath, were out due to injuries.
Here are five talking points from the day's play.
#5 A minor collapse dents India’s chances of posting big total
Sri Lanka fought back really well in the post-lunch session
Things didn’t look good for the hosts after Dhawan scored a quickfire hundred as the southpaw looked ominous at the crease. With KL Rahul too scoring at an impressive rate, a big first innings total looked certain.
However, after putting up a record opening stand, both the Indian openers got out in quick succession. While Rahul was dismissed looking to clear the mid on fielder, Dhawan swept one too many and mistimed it to the square-leg fielder.
Chateshwar Pujara, who has had a tremendous tour so far, too had a rare failure. The reliable batsman didn’t look comfortable against the spinners and was dismissed after scoring only 8 off 33 balls.
Virat Kohli batted patiently for his 42 runs but couldn’t convert the start into a big one. Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t do much with the bat either.
After losing wickets regularly, India were reduced from 188 for 1 to 322 for 6.