Team India got their Sri Lankan tour off to a brilliant start finishing Day 1 of the opening Test at Galle on 399/3. It was a sensational display of batsmanship by comeback man Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara who scored masterful centuries to almost bat Sri Lanka out of the Test on the 1st day itself.
It was pure carnage by Dhawan who scored a quickfire 190 while Cheteshwar Pujara remained unbeaten on 144. Fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep was the only wicket taking bowler bagging all the 3 wickets for just 64 runs. So with the 1st day done and dusted let us have a look at 5 Talking Points from the day’s play
Dhawan seize his opportunity with a sensational 190
Comeback man Dhawan tormented the Sri Lankan bowlers all through the day and made stroke-making look ridiculously easy. He made full use of the reprieve on 31 and went on to smash 31 fours during his knock of 190.
The southpaw smashed 110 runs all by himself in the 2nd session before falling 10 runs short of a well-deserved double century. He went berserk after reaching his century and literally toyed with the inexperienced Lankan attack. The experienced Rangana Herath was also smashed for boundaries at will by Dhawan made light work of all the Lankan bowlers.
Asela Gunaratne’s injury
While attempting to take a catch of Dhawan at slip, Gunaratne ended up injuring his left thumb which has ruled him out of the remainder of the Test. It was a relatively straight forward catch but Gunaratne made a mess of it which ended up hitting his thumb. He was immediately rushed off to Colombo for a surgery. It will be a big setback for Sri Lanka to play the remainder of the Test with only 10 batsmen.
Nuwan Pradeep- Sri Lanka’s lone warrior
Right arm quickie Nuwan Pradeep was the only bowler to trouble the Indian batsmen on a consistent basis. He bagged all the 3 wickets which fell in India’s innings. Abhinav Mukund edged a good length delivery straight to the keeper while Dhawan was dismissed in a bid to score quick runs. It wasn’t required at that stage as he was holed out in the circle.
He got the most prized scalp of Indian captain Virat Kohli when he cramped him for room and the right hander got a slight tickle of his bat straight to the wicket keeper. Though it was originally given not out, the 3rd umpire felt he had conclusive evidence to overturn the decision and ruled it in favour of the home team. He eventually finished Day 1 with impressive figures of 3/64 in 19 overs.
Cheteshwar Pujara scores yet another century
Maybe not one of the most stylish batsmen, but Puji is as effective Test player as any in the world at the moment and he yet again proved his worth with a well fought century. He played 2nd fiddle to Dhawan and allowed the southpaw to take control of proceedings. He was unperturbed and never looked to match Dhawan.
He played according to strengths and smashed some terrific boundaries during the innings. His cover drives and back foot punches were his trademark shots as the Saurashtra lad remained unbeaten on 144 of 247 balls, an innings laced with 12 hits to the fence.
Sri Lankan spinners had a lacklustre day
It was a horrendous day at the office for the Sri Lankan spinners as they ended up conceding 236 runs between them without bagging a single wicket. Captain Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera was taken to the cleaners by Dhawan as they ended up conceding 92 and 103 respectively. The 3rd spinner Danushkha Gunathilaka bowled 7 overs and was smashed for 41 runs.