Lunch: India 115 for 1 (Dhawan 64*, Pujara 37*) v Sri Lanka
India enjoyed a solid first session of the Test series, coasting through it at more than four an over while losing just the one wicket, of Abhinav Mukund. A grassier-than-normal Galle pitch proved excellent to bat on, and Shikhar Dhawan, having sat out India’s last 11 Tests, cashed in and went to lunch batting on 64 off 78 balls. With him was Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s top run-getter in their last Test season, batting on a serene 37 off 59.
The only wicket of the morning came from an excellent delivery from Nuwan Pradeep, angled in from around the wicket and straightening off the seam to induce an edge from Abhinav, whose front foot had hardly come out of the crease and had just landed on its heel when he jabbed uncertainly in defence.
The wicket ball came more or less out of nowhere. Neither Pradeep nor Lahiru Kumara exterted any sustained pressure on the batsmen, before or after that moment, and provided plenty of release balls. Dhawan scored at strike rates of 75.00 against Pradeep and 110.52 against Kumara, using the controlled short-arm pull to put away his short balls on a pitch lacking any real pace.
Still, it was Kumara who came closest to ending Dhawan’s innings, pitching one up in the corridor and inducing his only loose drive of the morning. Diving to his left from second slip, Asela Gunaratne got both hands to the ball but failed to hold on. Then he went off the field, holding on gingerly to an already heavily strapped left wrist.
More to follow…
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo