Retiring legend Kumar Sangakkara failed to get a big knock in his swansong Test appearance but Sri lanka overcame an early jolt to reach 140/3 after dismissing India for 393 in the first innings of the second cricket Test here on Friday.
Resuming at the overnight score of 319/6, India were bowled out shortly after the lunch break and the hosts treaded cautiously to keep the match on an even keel at the end of the second day’s play.
Opener Kaushal Silva (51 off 117 balls) played a watchful innings to ensure that the early loss of fellow opener Dimuth Karunaratne did not trigger a top-order collapse.
Sangakkara was given a guard of honour by the Indians as he walked in to bat when the hosts lost their first wicket with just one run on the board.
However, it did not quite turn out to be a fairytale ending for the veteran batsman, who was dismissed by off- spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for 32 after facing 87 deliveries.
After Sangakkara’s departure, lahiru Thirimanne (28 batting) and Silva added 39 runs for the third wicket before India took the slight edge by snaring the latter.
Dhammika Prasad (2-84) was the unlucky bowler as the ball kissed the off-stump but didn’t dislodge the bail. Six balls later, lanka did get their first wicket of the morning, with R Ashwin (2) hitting Angelo Mathews (2-24) straight to short extra cover.
Saha survived another close call in the 91st over, Prasad again the unlucky bowler, as his loose shot didn’t quite carry enough to the keeper.
TV replays proved sufficient doubt to rule the batsman not out who still hadn’t added a single run to his overnight score. He finally got going on the 14th ball he faced while Amit Mishra (24 runs, 50 balls, three fours) joined him at the other end.
The latter too was lucky to survive, without opening his account off 10 deliveries, when in the 94th over, umpire Bruce Oxenford failed to detect a faint edge to the keeper with Mathews the one to miss out on a wicket this time. With these many lives given, it was no surprise that the batsmen decided to settle down and curb their shots, and run scoring was very slow as a result. Saha and Mishra built a sluggish partnership of 46 runs for the eighth wicket and it helped India cross the 350-mark in the 101st over of the innings.
‘looking for 100 runs lead’
Indian bowling coach Bharat Arun has said that his side is looking at a 100-run first innings lead against Sri lanka in the second cricket Test.
“There is a long way to go in this game. But so far, we must be pretty happy. Our lower order has contributed quite well today and also we have kept them under check. We are probably looking for a lead of about 100 runs. If we get a lead of 100 runs on this track, it is beginning to wear and there were signs of spinners extracting some turn,” bowling coach Arun said.
‘First session tomo is imp’
Sri lankan opener Kaushal Silva has asserted the need for his team to bat well in the morning session of day three of the second cricket Test.
“I think we are in a solid position. The first hour tomorrow is going to be crucial for us. That session, if we bat without giving a wicket, then we can put pressure back on them. We need to bat positively and do it right,” he said.
Talking about the morning’s session where India were bowled out, Silva said, “We had to restrict runs. They had bowlers to come, but we didn’t take them lightly. I thought we restricted them to a good total.” he concluded.