Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test, Day 4: Dressing Room Celebrates As Kohli Scores Another Hundred
Jul 29, 2017 at 12:41 PM
The opening bowling pair of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav picked a wicket each to strengthen India’s quest for a four-day finish at the Galle International Stadium.
Sri Lanka has been asked to chase a mammoth target of 550 runs to win the game after Indian skipper declared at 240/3 after an hour’s play in the morning. In response, the hosts lost opener Upul Tharanga and Danushka Gunathilaka for cheap scores which saw the side reeling at 29/2 early one, sparking the chances of India pocketing the game before the end of the day’s play.
The probability of the target getting knocked down seems extremely vague. Sri Lanka successfully chased down a target of 388 in their last Test match but was against Zimbabwe. Indian bowling attack poses the biggest challenge in front of them.
The only possible retreat can be effected in the form of a resilient show by the remaining batters in the next five sessions which they need to survive.
Meanwhile, the Indian dressing room was ecstatic as captain Kohli scored an important hundred:
Century for the captain and the dressing room erupts to applaud @imVkohli #TeamIndia #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/toVviVvvIQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 29, 2017
Fortunately, hopes are bright at the moment as Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne got themselves settled after the early blows and safely saw through the opening session.
The survival task will also prove to be highly daunting as they may be without another fully fit batter as skipper Rangana Herath also hurt his finger badly The host batted with only 10 batters in the first innings after having already lost Aseala Gunaratne due to his fractured thumb.
Earlier skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten 103 before declaring at 240/3 after resuming at India to 189/3. The morning session began 15 minutes early and the declaration came just 6.3 overs into the new day.
The highlight of the short Indian batting show was Kohli. He resumed on 76 and brought up his 17th Test hundred and 10th as captain.