Pink Ball Test: India Need 9 Wickets to Win Against SL on Day 3; Target: 447
Catch all the latest updates from Day 2 of the Pink Ball Test between India and Sri Lanka.
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India was in complete control of the second day’s proceedings in the Pink Ball Test against Sri Lanka, rolling the visitors over quickly for 109, to take a lead of 143 before further stretching it to 446 with the help of some brilliant batting from the likes of Rishabh Pant (50) and Shreyas Iyer (67).
At Stumps, Sri Lanka had 9 wickets in hand and needed 419 more runs in three days to win the Test.
India Take Control On Day 2 From The Start
Jasprit Bumrah ensured Sri Lanka’s lower order would not cause too much trouble as he and R Ashwin wrapped up the innings in less than 6 overs on Day 2. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 109 with Bumrah picking his first five-wicket haul in Indian conditions, while Ashwin bagged 2.
Sri Lanka offered very little resistance on the second day with the lower order adding a total of 23 runs to the overnight score. Niroshan Dickwella finished with 21 while Vishwa Fernando added 8 in the final stages of the innings. Angelo Mathews (43) and Niroshan Dickwella (21) were the top-scorers for them.
India began their second innings with a lead of 143 runs. Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal have made a very steady start to the second innings, with neither looking to attack too much early on. Sri Lanka though have been dealt a blow with Praveen Jayawickrama off with an injured knee.
However, Mayank wasted yet another start, this time edging to gully off Lasith Embuldeniya for 22, giving Sri Lanka the first breakthrough shortly before Tea on Day 2.
Hanuma Vihari joined his skipper in the middle after that, and the duo were solid in the final hour or so in the session, as India piled on the lead too. At Tea, India were 204 ahead.
After the break, Rohit and Vihari continued in similar fashion even as Sri Lanka looked for the breakthrough. The duo put on a 56-run stand before the visitors found the breakthrough.
Rohit, looking for his fifty, tried to tonk Dhananjaya de Silva over long on for a six when on 46, but did not connect and was caught by Angelo Mathews. India, of course, were more than happy to bat on and Virat Kohli joined the party in the middle.
While Kohli looked to do his thing from one end, Vihari, who had survived a few close calls, was packed off shortly after by Praveen Jayawickrama, who's straight delivery knocked over the stumps as the batter missed his sweep. Vihari was dismissed for 35, but it wasn't about to change the complexion of the game soon.
While Kohli was settling in at one end, Rishabh Pant attacked from the get go, playing in a manner he knows so well. However, at the other end, once again the ball kept low and Jayawickrama trapped Kohli lbw for 13, as India lost their fourth wicket.
Pant's merry ways was troublesome for SL but the crowd enjoyed it, as expected. The southpaw hit 7 fours and 2 sixes during his 31-ball stay, but in that time, he rewrote the record books. Pant achieved his half-century of 28 deliveries, which is the fastest recorded fifty for India in Test cricket. He was looking to clobber Jayawickrama out of the ground and on to MG Road, but the leading edge allowed the bowler to hold on to a tough caught and bowled chance.
Jasprit Bumrah walks off with the match ball.
Image: BCCI
After Pant's carnage, the adrenaline dropped a little as the game slowed down. Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer were in the middle and weren't looking too bothered, as the lights started to take effect.
The duo batted out the rest of the session without any trouble, as India's lead stood at 342 runs.
After the final break of the day, Iyer and Jadeja were back in the middle, more than happy to pile on the misery. Neither were overly aggressive, though Iyer pulled out a couple of big hits, reminding everyone about his first innings knock.
And while the lead inched closer to 400, Iyer notched up his half-century, the second in the game. Right after, at the other end though, Vishwa Fernando finally got the breakthrough as he managed to sneak through Jadeja's defense and knock over the stumps. Jadeja was dismissed for 22.
Iyer was the next to depart as he was trapped LBW by Lasith Embuldeniya for 67, deceived in flight by the spinner. After that, Mohammed Shami walked in and showed off a wristy flick and a back foot punch through the leg side to add to the crowd's joy on a Sunday evening. Axar at the other end was dismissed for 9 after Shami's attack, which led to Rohit Sharma asking Sri Lanka to chase 447.
In response, Sri Lanka lost Lahiru Thirimanne in the first over as Jasprit Bumrah trapped him LBW. After that Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis saw the day out. SL need another 419 to win the Test and level the series.
Day 1 Recap
India won the toss and batted first, but the batters found it very difficult to get going. The Indian top order failed to fire and it was left to Virat Kohli and Hanuma Vihari to steady the ship with a solid partnership. However, that didn’t last too long either and after 47 runs together, the duo departed quickly one after the other.
Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer attacked SL’s bowlers with Iyer going hammer and tongs against the spinners, and scoring a superb 92 to drive the total to 252. After that Sri Lanka came out to bat in the final session and failed to hold out as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami shared 5 wickets among themselves. SL lost 6 wickets and have their task cut out on the second day.
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