India vs Sri Lanka | Talking points from Day 2 of first Test

Nuwan Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara’s impeccable bowling in the morning session

Although Sri Lankan bowlers were sent on a leather hunt in the first two sessions of day one, they did manage to get their act together to some extent in the final session yesterday.  Both Nuwan Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara managed to alter their lengths and kept hitting the deck hard that resulted in Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara - not getting enough support from the flat nature of the strip. And this morning the duo continued their good work as they mandated a perfect line just outside the off-stump and didn’t allow them to open their arms. Eventually, both the Lankan bowlers were rewarded for their unerring consistency when Pradeep had Pujara caught behind for the first wicket of the day and Kumara then had Rahane edged one to Dimuth Karunaratne at first slip, shortly after. More importantly, this also set the stage for the hosts to pick more wickets in the morning session as they dominated the first session of the second day’s play.

Coming into this series, Ravichandran Ashwin had been in great form - with both bat and ball - as he had cemented his reputation as the best Test all-rounder during India’s long Test season. Today, Ashwin came into bat after the fall of Rahane’s wicket and continued his purple patch with the bat. The 30-year-old timed the ball beautifully and used his reach to good effect to punish the Lankan bowlers. During his knock of 47 runs off 60 balls, Ashwin dispatched the bad balls to the boundaries, while leaving the good deliveries with due respect. But perhaps most importantly, Ashwin’s innings did not let Sri Lanka take complete control of proceedings, despite taking a few quick wickets. 

Bowlers put India on top