After a thrilling draw in the opening Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, both India and Sri Lanka were looking forward to the 2nd Test which was expected to provide a batting friendly surface than one that was offered in Kolkata.
Meanwhile, there were three changes in the Indian Playing XI while the Sri Lankan XI remained the same.
In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay made a return while Rohit Sharma also made a comeback at the expense of Bhuvneshwar Kumar who tied the knot with Nupur Nagar a couple of days ago. Mohammed Shami who also bowled splendidly in Kolkata and had to sit out due to a niggle which paved the way for the experienced Ishant Sharma to force his way back into the team.
It was Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal who won the toss and opted to bat. The visitors never got going and barring a few useful knocks by Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka was pretty mediocre and ended up losing all their wickets for 205 runs. The spinner was again in the thick of things sharing seven wickets between them while Ishant bagged three.
Murali Vijay and KL Rahul walked out in the middle to resume proceedings, but India received an early jolt when Rahul inside-edged a short of length delivery straight on to his stumps. From there on it was Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay who started rebuilding and looked unfazed. Vijay, in particular, was finding the gaps perfectly and executed some tremendous shots to perfection.
With the competition among the openers at this point, it was important for Vijay to come up with a big knock and he did exactly that. He took on the spinners on quite a few occasions and stepped down the track to clear the field easily. He eventually reached his 10th Test century which was indeed a big moment for him given it was his comeback game, and it’s never easy to make a comeback.
Vijay’s innings of 128 came in 221 deliveries were laced with 11 fours and a solitary hit over the fence. He was eventually dismissed by Rangana Herath, as Vijay tried to sweep a full toss delivery and was holed out in the short fine leg region.
Test ton no. 10! Nonchalant cover drives, wristy flicks, punchy cuts, dancing down the aisle and smashing the spinners, this knock had everything that you would associate with a typical Murali Vijay innings. Pure class. This man should play all tests for India for sure! #IndvsSL pic.twitter.com/fQsXG4mecC
— Srini Mama (@SriniMama16) November 25, 2017
2 Mins Of Silence For Haters Who Once Said Ashwin, Sir Ravindra Jadeja And Murali Vijay Are In Team Only Because Of #Dhoni's #CSK Favoritism.
They All Have Proved Their Talent Which MS Dhoni Saw Before Anyone Else Could. ???#INDvSL #INDvsSL #MuraliVijay #MSDhoni pic.twitter.com/UU679OM5OE
— Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) November 25, 2017
https://twitter.com/IPoetBala/status/934007682758934528
https://twitter.com/mr_Rahul_Vyas/status/934364398348525568
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Murali Vijay !!
What a knock sir !!! #INDvSL
#IndvsSL— Crime Master Gogo ?? (@vipul2777) November 25, 2017
murali vijay is good option for us as opener…his consistency in test cricket is notable…
— prateek shukla (@sonushukla60) November 25, 2017
Murali Vijay nice 128 on return. Threw it away though. Nice to see India's best opener back. #INDvSL
— ?PinnerFox?? ?? (@DarshinL) November 25, 2017
Murali Vijay is one of the most accomplished batsman in the side but I don't understand one thing, why's he taking so long to raise the helmet twice in an inning.
— Saurabh Dhankhar (@srbh_dhankhar) November 25, 2017
Rahul Dravid – The Wall
So Murali Vijay and Pujara are the Asian Paints painting that wall????
Pure test match class #IndvSL #IndvsSL
— Follow panriya da body soda (@adyararun01) November 25, 2017
Murali Vijay overseas against the big 3:
482 runs in Australia at 60.25
402 runs in England at 40.20
176 runs in SA at 30.00 (facing new ball against Philander & Steyn)Extraordinary numbers. You need specialists to see off the new ball and bat time abroad. #IndvsSL
— Srini Mama (@SriniMama16) November 25, 2017
Fine ? for Murali Vijay..the perfect man to have in the team for South Africa. Now, he needs to stay fit between now and SA! #INDvSL
— Hemant (@hemantbuch) November 25, 2017
10th Test Century for Murali Vijay and all of them came in first innings and this is maiden test century vs Sri Lanka..
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) November 25, 2017
Fantastic display of a test innings by #Murali Vijay ever so patience and elegant.Congractulations !!! for your hundred.#NerolacCricketLive @StarSportsIndia
— GAGAN SINGHAL (@Singhalgagan) November 25, 2017
Fantastic display of a test innings by #Murali Vijay ever so patience and elegant.Congractulations !!! for your hundred.#NerolacCricketLive @StarSportsIndia
— GAGAN SINGHAL (@Singhalgagan) November 25, 2017
Fantastic display of a test innings by #Murali Vijay ever so patience and elegant.Congractulations !!! for your hundred.#NerolacCricketLive @StarSportsIndia
— GAGAN SINGHAL (@Singhalgagan) November 25, 2017