INDIA-SL SERIES

First Test: Kohli ton, bowlers almost win it for India

ind-sl-kol-draw-salil-bera India and Sri Lanka players leave the pitch after play was stopped due to bad light in the first Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The match ended in a draw | Salil Bera

It was all about steering India into a safe enough position in the first Test in the session a little after lunch. And then suddenly, Virat Kohli upped the ante after scoring his half century like only he can and scored 52 runs in 39 balls at a strike rate of 135.90. As soon as he hit a six over extra cover to Suranga Lakmal, he pumped his fist and announced the declaration, India had scored 352-8 in 88.4 overs, setting Sri Lanka a target of 231 runs to win the the first Test in Kolkata.

Lanka had a total of 47 overs to chase it―make it even less considering the manner in which the light fades rapidly in the city. What followed was thrilling passage of play, lasting a total of 132 minutes, making the rain-curtailed Test match an absolutely riveting one, although it ended in a draw.

The new ball bowling partners Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami upheld their reputation of being two of the finest in the business to almost pull off a win with hostile spells that left Lanka tottering at 75-7 in 26.3 overs. Dasun Shanaka (6) and Rangana Herath (0) were at the crease when umpires offered bad light which the duo gladly accepted. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who took 8 wickets in the match was declared man of the match.

It was by no means a tame draw. The last two hours and 12 minutes were gripping―full of drama, hostile seam bowling, player run ins, delaying tactics and gamesmanship. The on field umpires were kept on their toes throughout. The entire Test match in fact was a game of attrition with the visitors finding themselves with theirs noses ahead for a major part of the match. However, it was eventually India that stamped its authority on the match.

Kumar and Shami displayed what Indian seam attack is currently all about―fine seam bowling combined with some reverse swing from a wicket that had dried out a bit. Together, the duo brought the Lankan second innings to its knees, leaving the visitors tottering at 14-3, their top three batsmen―Sadara Samarawickrama (0), Dimuth Karunaratne (1) and Lahiru Thirimanne (7)―back in the hut in 8.1 overs. The time was too short to do any damage control as far as the Lankans were concerned.

Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal and wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella tried to hold the fort. Dickwella was been involved in some gamesmanship and a spat with bowler Mohammed Shami, which led to umpire Nigel Llong having a word with both the skippers in an attempt to de-escalate the rising tensions on the field. The Indians were in a hurry to take all the wickets and the Lankans were trying to use up as much time as possible.

A fired-up Shami sent in a ball that swung in late, and Chandimal (20) was unable to do anything to prevent it from hitting low at the stumps. Kumar got the better of the plucky Dickwella caught leg before on 27.

kohli-eden-century-salil Kohli celebrates his century at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata | Salil Bera

After that it was all about delaying tactics even as the Lankan lower order were welcomed with 5 slips and seamers running in at a fiery pace. However, soon enough at 4.25 pm the match was called off with 20.3 overs remaining.

As for Kohli, with this 18th Test century added to his 32 ODI hundreds, he notched up a record of 50 international tons―the second by an Indian after Sachin Tendulkar and 8th batsman overall to do so.

Earlier, the first session of India's second innings didn't exactly go their way. The underrated Sri Lankla bowlers took four wickets, their disciplined bowling restraining India from scoring as freely as they did on the previous day.

Medium pacer Suranga Lakmal did most of the damage having picked the key wickets of K.L. Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Rahul was the first Indian wicket to fall on Monday morning at 79, the ball coming back in sharply to dislodge the middle stump. But it was Lakmal's double strike thereafter that shook the hosts. Cheteshwar Pujara was caught by Dilruwan Perera at gully off a short ball that ballooned up on the batsman for 22. Four balls later Rahane got dismissed for a duck. Rahane reviewed the decision, but the ultra edge found the ball clipping the top of leg stump.

Pujara created a record of sorts, by becoming the third Indian batsman, after M.L. Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri, to play on all five days of a Test match.

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