Team India skipper Virat Kohli and opener Murali Vijay made merry in the middle, stamping their class on an insipid bowling performance by Sri Lanka on the first day of the third Test match in New Delhi. The duo's mammoth third-wicket partnership of 283 runs deflated the visitors to such an extent that any fightback from the Lankans would be a surprise.
Vijay scored a measured 155 while Kohli remained unbeaten at 156. It was only in the last 15 minutes of the day's play that the Lankans could manage a breakthrough, taking two wickets. The hosts were 371/4 at stumps.
Clearly enjoying their time with the bat, Kohli and Vijay broke into the 'dab'―a dance move that first gained popularity in the NFL games in the US. Politicians, too, have made a statement with the dance, with the likes of Hillary Clinton and Emmanuel Macron making the dab moves on television shows.
This was Vijay's second successive century in the series and 11th Test hundred overall. The Tamil Nadu batsman looked solid and and was untested right through his 350-minute vigil. He looked set for a bigger score, but a lapse in concentration on 155 saw him get stumped by Niroshan Dickwella off spinner Lakshan Sandakan.
The legend of Kohli, however, keeps getting bigger by the day. The Indian captain, playing on his home ground, is a glutton when it comes to scoring runs. He notched up his third hundred of the series―one each in every Test match so far—showing how to make each opportunity with the bat, count. Unhindered by the quality of opposition, Kohli went about scoring his 52nd international century and his 20th Test hundred with finesse―his trademark cover drive and sweet timing a treat for the decent Saturday Delhi crowd at Kotla. Such is his form that he has converted his last six half-centuries into hundreds.
It wasn't the most attractive brand of Test cricket on display at Kotla, given the poor quality of cricket from the Lankans. The captaincy was unimaginative, the bowling lacked bite and experience. But Kohli's team is a merciless unit and they made most of the opportunities given to them.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, India looked set to seize the momentum on the first day itself as the openers appeared untroubled on a typical Feroz Shah Kotla wicket, which, despite the shades of green, was a good wicket to bat on. Dhawan, who returned to the playing XI after a break , replacing K.L. Rahul, failed to capitalise on the opportunity as Suranga Lakmal held on to a catch off Dilruwan Perera at fine leg on 42.
Sri Lanka found itself in a good position when they succeeded in dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara, too, before lunch. But rather than putting pressure on the Indians, the visitors frittered away the opportunity and ended up getting severely punished by Kohli and Vijay. Pujara was caught at leg slip on 23 by Sadeera Samarawickrama off medium pacer Lahiru Gamage, while attempting to glance off his pads. But some inventive field setting, which was more by chance than design as Lankan bowling coach Ramesh Ratnayake later revealed, accounted for India's batting mainstay.
Ajinkya Rahane, who scored just one run, was guilty of poor shot selection as he was drawn forward by off-spinner Sandakan's delivery and ended up getting stumped. Rahane has been in the midst of a run drought in the current series. He has not crossed the single digit mark in this series and has a poor average of 23.56 in Test matches played at home since the 2016 New Zealand series. With his teammates thriving at home and a big tour of South Africa round the corner, the lack of runs is a matter of some concern. His performances abroad, however, have been exemplary and he is crucial to the team management's plans in the season which will see India largely playing away from home.
