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Galle: Sri Lanka scored 154/5, trailing by 446 runs at stumps in the first innings on the second day of the first cricket Test against India at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday.
Angelo Mathews (54) and Dilruwan Perera (six) were not out at stumps, as the hosts still trailed by 446 runs with five wickets in hand.
After India scored 600 runs in their first innings, Sri Lanka got off to a poor start as they lost opener Dimuth Karunaratne (2) with just seven runs on the board.
Karunaratne was caught leg before wicket by pacer Umesh Yadav.
However, Mohammad Shami removed Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis in quick succession. That further invoked Tharanga to up the scoring rate, bogging India with counterattack.
He scored a brisk 63 before Abhinav Mukund, from forward short-leg, ran him out. Tharanga was unlucky that the bottom part of his bat hit the ground hard, leaving it in the air.
Five overs later, Mukund pull off a stunner at the same position, taking a one-handed catch to send Niroshan Dickwella packing.
Earlier, resuming at 503/7, debutant Hardik Pandya and tailender Mohammad Shami helped India post 600/10 in the first innings. Shami (30) and middle-order batsman Pandya (50) contributed 62 runs for the ninth wicket.
Pandya's half-century was laced with five boundaries and three sixes while Shami slammed three sixes in his cameo innings with a strike rate of 100.00. Incoming batsman Umesh Yadav stayed unbeaten on 11 runs off 10 balls at the end.
Cheteshwar Pujara scored his sixth 150-plus score and overall 19th in First-Class cricket. The staggering show did not come as a surprise. He was India’s highest run-scorer for India in the previous Test season despite captain Virat Kohli scoring four double-tons in four consecutive series.
With Shikhar Dhawan scoring 190 and Pujara 153, this became only the second instance when two Indian batters scored above 150 in an innings of an away Test.
Ajinkya Rahane looked good for a big score as well, but Lahiru Kumara got rid of him on 57. Along with Pujara, he added 137 runs for the fourth wicket. Amidst the run-fest, Ravichandran Ashwin played a 60-ball 47 cameo. He did so with the help of seven delightful boundaries. Then began the Pandya-Shami show. They romped 62 off 51 repelling Sri Lanka’s brief comeback.
The only glimmer of hope in an otherwise gloomy bowling performance was Nuwan Pradeep (6-132), who took his maiden five-wicket haul
Brief scores
India - 600 (Dhawan 190, Pujara 153, Rahane 57, Pandya 50, Pradeep 6-132, Kumara 3-131)
Sri Lanka - 154 for 5 (Tharanga 64, Mathews 54*, Shami 2-30)
Status - Sri Lanka trail by 446 runs
