Dhawan, Rahul take India to safety
DAY 4 Openers stitch 166run stand after Lanka lowerorder makes merry
Shikhar Dhawan’s 94 notwithstanding, going into the fifth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens, India’s performance has raised more questions than it answered.
The batting didn’t show up in the pink of health in difficult conditions before the bowlers couldn’t prise out the Sri Lanka lower-order shepherded by Rangana Herath, who top-scored with 67, on a lively deck.
In conditions best for batting so far, Dhawan and KL Rahul added 166, erasing the 122-run deficit en route after Sri Lanka were stopped on 294 with Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar taking four wickets each and Umesh Yadav the rest. This is the first time since 1983 that all wickets went to Indian pacers at home. At stumps, India were 171/1, 49 in front and with Cheteshwar Pujara (2) set to bat on all five days. KL Rahul was on 73.
Rahul was more aggressive of the openers, hitting Lahiru Gamage for three fours early. Driving in front and square off the wicket, Rahul reached his 50 with a push to square-leg after a lemon cut, off Suranga Lakmal took him to 49.
Dhawan, whose first two scoring shots were boundaries, got there soon after and then changed gears, stepping out to hit Herath for two sixes and pulling Gamage for two successive boundaries. Till Dhawan tried to play Dasun Shanaka through the line and was caught behind, a seventh Test century seemed to be there for the taking.
Before that, they stripped the Sri Lanka bowling attack off its tooth and claws. With the wicket drying out on a sunny day, the pace bowlers didn’t look menacing and the spinners were yet to get balls to snake in.
Spinner Dilruwan Perera didn’t do much apart from wasting a review. Ditto Herath but it was his batting that ensured that unless Sri Lanka have a major attack of Monday blues, they will got to Nagpur on level terms. That would count as some progress.
Herath came in when three wickets had fallen for one run and Sri Lanka on 201/7. Bowling close to the batsman helped Shami get Niroshan Dickwella, Kumar’s inswinger got Shanaka and then Shami sent back Dinesh Chandimal with one that deviated away.
201/7 would have been 208/8 in the last ball of the 57th over had Perera not successfully reviewed after one from Shami cut back and rapped his pads. Perera scored only five but kept Herath company as the veteran played shots mostly in the air and across the line.
Kumar was sent for four square on the off-side, when Yadav allowed width, Herath hit through covers. A Virat Kohli full toss was smacked to the square-leg fence, Shami was hit through midwicket and an attempted cover-drive took an edge for four. Herath’s 50 came up with an uppish drive, off Yadav, before he ducked into a Shami bouncer which glazed his bat for four. He perished to a slash off Kumar that was pouched by Shami at deep backward point.In that time, he added 43 runs with Perera and 46 with Lakmal.
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Bhuvneshwar Kumar said India’s pacers may have got excited seeing the purchase Sri Lanka’s bowlers derived from the wicket and got carried away. “We bowled some bad balls and could have
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