Day 2, Ind-SL Mohali Test: India Declare at 574/8, Jadeja Unbeaten on 175

Ravindra Jadeja started Day 2 on the overnight score of 45.

(Photo: BCCI)

Adding another major feat to his all-rounder credentials, Ravindra Jadeja scored an unbeaten 175 on Day 2 of the Mohali Test before India declared at 574/8 in Mohali.

Having started on the overnight score of 45 alongside R Ashwin, Jadeja completed his ton in the first two hours of play. He then went onto add 130 runs for the 7th wicket with Ashwin before finishing the innings with a 103-run stand with Mohammad Shami who was unbeaten on 20.

Jadeja's 175 is his career's highest Test score and the highest score by an Indian batting at the number seven spot.

The 33-year-old's other Test century came back in October 2018 when he remained unbeaten on 100 against West Indies at Rajkot.

India started the second day of the Test series-opener against Sri Lanka in Mohali by observing a minute's silence to pay tribute to two Aussie legends who passed away on Friday - Rod Marsh and Shane Warne. Both teams are wearing black armbands as a tribute to the two players.

Ravindra Jadeja began the second day by raising his half-century with a back-foot drive slapped through covers for a boundary off Suranga Lakmal. Whenever Sri Lanka bowlers gave width, Jadeja was quick to pounce on them and send the ball to the boundary rope. When Sri Lanka tried to shift from width to straight lines, it was all too straight for Jadeja to easily swat through the leg-side.

Ravichandran Ashwin, on the other hand, took his time before he got going with boundaries through point and cover off Vishwa Fernando. Jadeja and Ashwin were in cruise mode, unperturbed by a Sri Lanka bowling attack which won't have the services of Lahiru Kumara for the rest of the match. Ashwin continued to drive with finesse and reached his 12th Test fifty with a single through covers.

Jadeja and Ashwin scored 130 runs for the seventh wicket to take India past 450. After pulling Lakmal through mid-wicket, Ashwin tried to pull again. But Lakmal, coming from around the wicket, cramped him for room and the ball took a faint top-edge to keeper Niroshan Dickwella.

In the next over, Jadeja brought up his second Test century with a single through cover.

An over later, lunch was declared with India still in a position of ascendancy and Sri Lanka staring at another session of toil under the sun.

The second session began with Jayant Yadav trying to defend on the front foot but was undone by Vishwa Fernando getting to move the ball away from him and nicked to first slip. Jadeja, continuing on from unbeaten 102 at lunch, was lucky in a pull escaping the stumps for a boundary off Fernando.

Fernando came further under attack from Jadeja as the left-hander took successive boundaries through the off-side. Jadeja then went after Lasith Embuldeniya, dancing down the pitch to hit a six down the ground followed by sweeping twice for back-to-back fours to take India's total past 500.

Jadeja took down part-time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva for a pulled four through mid-wicket and a lofted six over long-off to bring up his first 150 in Test cricket and also raise half-century of his partnership with Mohammed Shami.

Shami eventually got off the mark on the 15th ball and even got a boundary as Jadeja continued to move on with ease, going past Kapil Dev's 163 against the same opposition, to record the highest score by an Indian batter at seven in Tests. Shami then brought up the century stand to make a hat-trick of three 100-plus partnerships by the Indian lower order.