Pujara, Rahane tons deflate Lanka
India No 3 hits second ton on trot and raises doublecentury stand to give India control on Day One
COLOMBO: Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane smashed hundreds to help India seize the initiative on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club ground on Thursday.
Pujara (128*) and Rahane’s (103*) unfinished fourth wicket partnership had yielded 211 runs when India finished the day on 344/3 with Sri Lanka’s spin gamble backfiring.
Opener KL Rahul marked his return to international cricket after an injury layoff with a sixth successive half-century to lay the foundation, and the middle-order consolidated.
With Sri Lanka preferring a dry track, which is expected to take spin as the game progresses, India skipper Virat Kohli won a crucial toss to get to make first use of the wicket. India’s top-order seemed to fritter away the advantage but Pujara and Rahane combined to show how good the track was for batting.
EARLY STRIKES
Sri Lanka, 0-1 down in the series, gambled on three spinners and a lone pace bowler. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath shared the new ball with paceman Nuwan Pradeep. Their attempts to put pressure worked briefly as they reduced India to 133/3 with stroke-players Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli out.
From that stage, Sri Lanka should have consolidated. But Pujara and Rahane pushed the hosts on the backfoot.
All eyes were on Pujara, being his 50th Test. And he was playing at a venue where he had started his turnaround in 2015 with a fighting, unbeaten 145.
He didn’t disappoint, getting his 13th century and reaching 4000 Test runs. The SSC 2015 to 2017 cycle has seen a glorious run by Pujara with seven hundreds.
After a sedate start, Pujara picked up momentum. Barring a few scratchy shots at the start, it was a faultless innings. He was decisive with his footwork and judged the length superbly. His use of feet against spinners was a treat to watch, forcing them to bowl short or push the ball wide.
For his left-arm spinners, Herath and debutant Malinda Pushpakumara, Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal kept the third man region open while packing the on side. Pujara made a mockery of the tactics, punching holes on the leg side by repeatedly stepping out to on drive and leaning back to cut when pitched short.
For Rahane, getting his ninth ton was important. Since scoring 188 against New Zealand at Indore in October, he had gone nine Tests and 19 innings without a century. He got to a few halfcenturies, but was unable to convert it into a century, a story similar to what happened in the Galle Test where he got out when set.