India, energized by the brilliance of R. Ashwin simply annihilated Sri Lanka in their own backyard on the first day’s play of the first test. Angello Mathews won the toss, and had absolutely no hesitation in batting first, on what looked like a dry and slow wicket. The Indian seamers began positively for the visitors, as their performance will surely ease skipper Virat Kohli.
Ishant Sharma struck first, as he dismissed Karunaratne on a short ball. Ishant’s ploy of bowling short reaped him quick benefits, as the southpaw was in absolutely no position to defend the delivery. Silva followed soon, as Aaron got rid of him. Then it was time for the Ashwin show to commence. Ashwin bowled as though he was bowling on a mine field. The ball was spinning viciously and the Sri Lankan middle order had no clue about handling Ashwin.
As many as 5 wickets fell in the first session, and it couldn’t have been any worse for the hosts. Soon, a resurgent partnership between Mathews and Chandimal lifted the spirits of the Sri Lankans. However, some sheer acrobatic brilliance from Rohit Sharma at short leg ended Mathews’ resistance. The tail didn’t resist a bit, as Amit Mishra struck twice within two balls.
The Indians too were rocked early, but then Kohli and Dhawan guided the visitors to safety by the end of day one. At stumps, India were 128-2, trailing by just 55 runs.
Below, are the statistical highlights from the first day’s play:
1. Rohit Sharma’s average in international cricket across all formats in Sri Lanka is 16.3.
2. Shikhar Dhawan became the 13th Indian batsman to score 1000 test runs in 25 or fewer innings
3. Ashwin’s bowling figures of 6/46, were the best by an Indian spinner in the first innings of an away test.
4. Angello Mathews became the 15th Sri Lankan to play 50 or more test matches.
5. The last time Indians took five opposition wickets before lunch on the first day of a test, it was against Bangladesh in January 2010.