India vs Sri Lanka day 1 full match report
Today, i will be writing about more the 2nd session, because i have not seen the first session and the third, but i will make a short summary of the first and the third session.
The Indian team had a couple of changes, and they went against their 5 bowling strategy, because of Bhuvi had his wedding recently and Shami got injured. So Bhuvi and Shami was changed with Ishant Sharma and Rohit Sharma. There has also been an opener change, with Murali Vijay getting a chance to make a comeback and Shikhar Dhawan after a brilliant 2nd innings. I do not know about the Sri Lankan side, but it looks like they are unchanged.
First session was very slow. India were on top, but Sri Lanka held on with their defence. They battled out the Indian bowling and only lost 2 wickets, which i think, could have been worse. For a long time i have seen a run rate that was near 2 runs per over. That is one of the reasons why people think test cricket is boring. There are no real action for young guys that really likes boundaries and batsmen ruining the bowlers figures, but test cricket is not meant to be like that. Test cricket is about patience. It is about how long you can stay at the crease as a batsman, and how long you can keep going on the same line and length as a bowler.
Moving on to the second session, which was kind of a repeat of the first session, but the pitch was really helping the spinners, and it is shown by the few dismissals India got in the session. Kohli also was trusting more the spinners, because there was so much help for them, but Sri Lanka dugged it out and unfortunately they also lost a couple of wickets, including the set batsman Karunaratne.
The third session was by far Indias, because the pitch began to help more and more the spinners and they used it to perfection. Sri Lanka on the other hand, were bamboozled by the Indian spinners, as they just got past 200 and managed to get 208 all out after Ashwin and Jadejas brilliant bowling performance. There was also a suprise by Ishant Sharma, who actually bowled really well. He picked up 3 wickets and he could make a comeback if he continues to perform like this. India got a small 8 overs, which KL Rahul did not survive, as he got out early, but Vijay and Pujara held on as India ended the day with 11/1 after 8 overs.
It was Indias day, because Sri Lanka did not get enough runs on the board and India bowled brilliantly and got through the Sri Lankan batting. The pitch could be much worse tomorrow, because we already have seen the pitch has got some cracks here and there and the ball is turning, so the Sri Lankan spinners could come in to this game, but India in the other hand have a long batting order. That may help India getting past the lead. Rangana Herath will be the key for Sri Lanka. They really need him to perform tomorrow. That is all from day 1