India are off to flying start posting 101 for 1 in the opening session of the 2nd Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. The visitors yet again looked fully in comfortable of the proceedings despite losing Shikhar Dhawan.
Things looked in favour of the Indian team right from the start as Virat Kohli won the toss for the second straight time and elected to bat first. India opted for just one natural change with KL Rahul reclaiming his place at the top of the order swapping place with Abhinav Mukund.
The first half hour of the day was unsurprisingly dominated by the Indian opening duo of Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul. The two faced an unusual bowling tactic from opposition skipper Chandimal who looked in an experimental mood.
The duo seam -spin duo of Nuwan Pradeep and left arm spinner Rangana Herath started the proceedings. the first change was brought in after just 7 overs into the day with part time military medium Dimuth Karunaratne taking the ball replacing Herath.
It was cat – mouse game initially. The pitch certainly looks like a potentially tricky wicket to bat on when facing the spinners. After coming in to bowl the 2nd over, Herath opening spell saw a few edges and misses. Dhawan edged and survived off the third ball of his spell while a couple of deliveries beat KL Rahul’s outside edge.
Shikhar Dhawan, who struck his career best 190 in the last game, and Rahul both looked fluent, however as they hit back whenever the opportunity arose to bury whatever pressure the Lankans were able to create.
Pradeep looked comfortable initially and used his accuracy to test both Dhawan and Rahul with the new ball. However, the Indian duo, both known for their aggression, got in their rhythm quickly in style by targeting Herath.
Dhawan, after missing a few slashes off Pradeep in the opening over, sought redemption with a six off Herath off the 5th ball in the 2nd over. Rahul also overcame the challenge put forward by the left arm spinner with a back to back boundaries in the 6th over.
The breakthrough came for Sri Lanka in the 11th over when off spinner Dilruwan Perera struck off the first ball of his spell, trapping Dhawan in front of the stumps. The wicket came barely an over after Karunaratne nearly threatened to remove Rahul LBW. But, the right hander survived.
Here is the Video of KL Rahul’s review:
https://twitter.com/cricvids1/status/892998199195049984
The first breakthrough and the string of chances created before the dismissal brought hope for a highly competitive contest between bat and ball. But, that could not happen as Rahul along with Pujara neatly played out the entire session with much trouble.
While Pujara looked at his defensive best, scoring just 14 off 58 balls, KL Rahul Continued with flair and completed his fifty, returning unbeaten at 52.
At Lunch Day 1:
India 101/1 (KL Rahul 52*, Dhawan 35)