At the end of, day two Sri Lanka are trailing India by 187 runs with Kumar Sangakkara and nightwatchman Dhammika Prasad at the crease. After a pathetic batting display in the first innings, Sri Lanka are in tatters once again in the second innings losing two wickets with just five runs on the board. The morning session was entirely dominated by Indians with Dhawan and Kohli adding a wonderful partnership and both of them brought up their centuries putting India in a commanding position. Wriddhiman Saha added a valuable 60 before India got all out for 375. Tharindu Kaushal ended up taking 5 wickets for Sri Lanka but was expensive.
Kohli has been very pro-active as a captain and used his key bowlers Ashwin and Ishant Sharma effectively in the first Innings. At the end of day two with just 4 overs left in the day, Kohli opted for spin rather than pace and it paid dividends for him as spinners Ashwin and Mishra strike in their first overs leaving Sri Lanka in a concerning position. Sangakkara after his poor show in the first innings would like to make it huge in the second innings.
The main thing for captain Kohli and the Indian bowlers on day 3 would be to contain their star batsman Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Matthews and get them out as soon as possible, and he has to rotate the bowlers accordingly. Ashwin will be the strike bowler for Kohli once again as he got the better of Sangakkara in the first innings. Amit Mishra will be handy against right-handers and he can’t afford to bowl short as he did in the first innings.
Varun Aaron who leaked runs in the first innings has to be given short spells in the second innings as he ran out of steam in the first innings and his line and length was wayward. Harbhajan Singh, who looked good in the first innings need to strike for the team when needed. The only bankable pacer for India is Ishant Sharma who bowled exceptionally well in the first innings and will be crucial in the second innings as well.
Ishant or Ashwin has to strike early for India on day 3 which might possibly seal an innings victory if they remove Sangakkara and Matthews early on in day 3. Spinners are the real deal for India on day 3 and they can’t allow Sangakkara and Matthews to settle down or else it might turn the tide on Sri Lanka’s favour.