SL vs Ind, 1st Test, Day 1: Dhawan, Pujara propel India to 399-3

Galle: India kicked off their tour of Sri Lanka with a bang, as they put up a mammoth first day score of 399 for the loss of three wickets, at the Galle International Stadium, on Wednesday.

India’s opening lineup  looked a bit unfamiliar for the longer version of the game, with the likes of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay missing.

While things did get off to a bit of a shaky start with the early fall of Abhinav Mukund’s wicket, Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara consolidated the side’s position in the first session, and then took the attack to the Lankan bowlers. The duo put up a 253-run partnership.

Dhawan however, perished on the 190-run mark, falling short of what would have been his maiden double hundred. Pujara however, held grittily on to his wicket, taking his score to an unbeaten 144, as he looks to put up as big a total as possible, with captain Virat Kohli at the other end.

The Sri Lankan bowlers took quite a battering on the first day. Nuwan Pradeep was the only successful bowler, as he bagged all the three wickets on the day.

Scorecard:

India 399-3 from 90 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 190, Cheteshwar Pujara 144*; N Pradeep 3-64)

Cheteshwar Pujara scores 12th Test ton

Cheteshwar Pujara got to his 12th Test century in what has been a calm and composed innings by him.At the moment, Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are looking to get India back on track, after Kohli departed. 

Captain Virat Kohli departs

Captain Virat Kohli departs

Captain Virat Kohli departed after scoring just three runs, after India resumed their innings after tea. Once again, it was Nuwan Pradeep who got the wicket of the Indian skipper.

So far, it has been none other than Pradeep taking the wickets, after the rest of the bowlers has failed to perform so far.

India 282/2 at tea

India continued dominating the first Test against Sri Lanka as they looked to score a huge total. Shikhar Dhawan, who was in good touch, departed for 190, just before tea. It will be upto captain Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara to take the visitors forward.

Shikhar Dhawan departs, falls short of double ton

Shikhar Dhawan was sent back to the dressing room after scoring 190 runs, 10 runs short of what would have been his maiden double ton. Once again, it was Nuwan Pradeep who got the crucial breakthrough for the hosts.

Captain Virat Kohli walked to the crease in at number four. Cheteshwar Pujara, meanwhile, is just 25 runs shy of another century.

Dhawan-Pujara partnership crosses 200-run mark

The partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara crossed the 200 run mark, as India continued dominating on day 1. Sri Lanka showed no signs of improvement as they are yet to scalp another wicket.

Dhawan meanwhile, got to his 150-run mark, as he is just 50 runs shy of his maiden double ton in Tests.

Innings update, session two

Team India continued to march on in the first Test as Shikhar Dhawan got to his 5th Test century. Dhawan, along with Cheteshwar Pujara, are currently taking the team ahead, as they look to post a huge total. The two have put up an unbeaten partnership of 139.

Pujara, on the other hand, is on the verge of his 16th Test fifty.The two batsmen are not giving any chance for the bowlers to strike, as they continue their dominance.

Innings update

India finished at 115-1 after 27 overs at lunch. Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan steadied Team India’s innings, after the Men in Blue lost opener Abhinav Mukund early. Dhawan, meanwhile reached to his fourth Test fifty during the course of the innings.

For Sri Lanka, the match is not going their way. Asela Gunaratne dropped a catch off Nuwan Pradeep’s delivery who was bowling to Dhawan. Gunaratne, however, got injured and had to walk back to the dressing room.

WIcket! Opener Abhinav Mukund departs early, after scoring just 12 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara is the new man in at number three.

Galle: Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to bat in the first Test against Rangana Herath-led Sri Lankan side here on Wednesday.

Hardik Pandya is making his Test debut and accompany Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav to take care of the pace-bowling department as R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be the two spinners in the playing XI.

For Sri Lanka, Danushka Gunathilaka is making his Test debut.

India return to a venue where they lost their last Test outside India as Virat Kohli and Co take on Rangana Herath-led Sri Lanka side on Day 1 of the first Test here on Wednesday.

India will have a few things to take care at the top as their regular openers – KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are no longer in contention for the opening Test and the entire series respectively.

While India have had their fitness concerns, Sri Lanka too will be without their newly-appointed Test skipper Dinesh Chandimal after he was ruled out of the first Test due to pneumonia.

The team has also gone through a big leadership change as Angelo Mathews decided to step down from captaincy following ICC Champions Trophy and Graham Ford ended his coaching stint with the Island side.

While Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund are favourites to take up the opening slots, it will be interesting to see whether Indian think tank picks Rohit Sharma, who opens the innings in ODIs and T20s, ahead of one of the two left-handers.

India’s middle order looks settled with the presence of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha with the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to add depth to the batting. While Kohli, in his pre-match conference hinted that Hardik Pandya may make his Test debut, India may also go ahead with three-spin attack by including Kuldeep Yadav in the team.

While India’s preparation for the series was dominated by the coach saga, the team has finally got the man – Ravi Shastri – who played a key role, off the field, to turn around India’s fortune in the last Sri Lankan series.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (captain), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (wicketkeeper), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep.