India had it all go their way on the opening day of the first Test match against Sri Lanka, and Virat Kohli and the rest will know if Day 2 can be a similar one, they will have this match in Galle in the bag. On Wednesday, Ashwin bowled with outstanding control and poise to help skittle Sri Lanka out for just 183, before India’s batsmen – Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli – put on a 100-run partnership to take their team to 128/2, with just 55 runs now separating the two sides.
India’s plan on Day 2 will be simple – bat out the day and with it bat Sri Lanka out of the match. For that to happen, India will need big hundreds from two of Dhawan, Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.
A score of around 400 is what India will have in mind if they want to harbour hopes of not wanting to bat again. They will also know that even if they get to that 400-mark, it doesn’t guarantee them not having to bat again, because Sri Lanka, surely, will not bat as badly as they did in the first innings.
Sri Lanka Squad: AD Mathews (c), HDRL Thirimanne, PVD Chameera, LD Chandimal (wk), N Pradeep, MVT Fernando, HMRKB Herath, FDM Karunaratne, PHT Kaushal, J Mubarak, MDK Perera, MDKJ Perera, KTGD Prasad, KC Sangakkara, JK Silva†, WU Tharanga
India Squad: V Kohli (c), VR Aaron, R Ashwin, S Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, B Kumar, A Mishra, CA Pujara, AM Rahane, KL Rahul, WP Saha (wk), I Sharma, RG Sharma, M Vijay, UT Yadav.
India vs Sri Lanka Live Updates:
10.34 am: A brief holdup in play as the ball is changed.
10.32 am: India 146/2 in 42 overs, trail by 37 runs. Dhawan 65, Kohli 51.
10.28 am: India 144/2 in 41 overs, trail by 39 runs. Dhawan 63, Kohli 51.
10.25 am: India 143/2 in 40 overs, trail by 43 runs. Dhawan 62, Kohli 51.
10.20 am: India 140/2 in 39 overs, trail by 43 runs. Dhawan 60, Kohli 50.
10.16 am: Kohli half-century. India 140/2 in 38 overs, trail by 43 runs. Dhawan 60, Kohli 50.
10.13 am: India 138/2 in 37 overs, trail by 45 runs. Dhawan 59, Kohli 49.
10.08 am: India 134/2 in 36 overs, trail by 49 runs. Dhawan 56, Kohli 48.
10.05 am: Rangana Herath to start from the other end.
10.04 am: India 131/2 in 35 overs, trail by 52 runs. Dhawan 55, Kohli 46.
10 am: Kohli to face the first ball bowled by Dhammika Prasad.
9.58 am: Dhawan and Kohli are walking into the middle. Play about to begin.