India emerges victoriously in the end but it was a spirited effort from the Sri Lankan batsmen who revived themselves after getting all out for 183 in the first innings. India won the second Test at Colombo by an innings and 53 runs. India bagged another series win, under Virat Kohli it’s the 8th series win on the trot. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 386 runs in the second innings as they fell short of the first innings score after being asked to follow on by the visitors. Ravindra Jadeja picked up his 9th five-wicket haul in Tests helping India to end Sri Lanka’s fightback on Day 4 and took 8 wickets in the matter of two sessions.
India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 53 runs
14:36 IST WICKET! Pradeep c Dhawan b Ashwin 1(9)
14:35 IST Ashwin continues, Pradeep on strike. He gives in to the Indian bowlers, tries to slog and gets out in the process. SL 386 all out in 116.4 overs
14:32 IST Nuwan Pradeep comes to bat, he takes a single and will retain strike. SL 386/9 in 116 overs
India won the 2nd Test by an Innings and 53 runs, and take 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. IND 622/9 decl & SL 183, 386-all out #SLvIND pic.twitter.com/nVRlROeD0I
— Sri Lanka Cricket (@OfficialSLC) August 6, 2017
— Cricvids (@Cricvids1) August 6, 2017
— Cricvids (@Cricvids1) August 6, 2017
14:26 IST WICKET! Dickwella c Rahane b Hardik Pandya 31(56) He played it straight to the slip fielder, Ajinkya Rahane takes a comfortable catch. SL 384/9 in 115.1 overs
14:25 IST Ashwin to Dickwella, he is playing the most unorthodox Test cricket ever, but, it seems to be working. Three runs from the over. It included a block on the edge of the popping crease and a reverse sweep from the same position. SL 384/8 in 115 overs
14:22 IST Pandya continues, Herath on strike, a dot ball to start with in the over. He plays the next ball towards square leg. Dickwella is still following the same approach against Pandya. Just a single from the over.SL 380/8 in 114 overs
14:17 IST Ashwin continues, Herath stays quiet for the first four balls. He goes for the slog, Jadeja runs from the boundary but drops the ball, that was an excellent effort but could not convert it into an amazing catch. Just a single from the over. SL 379/8 in 113 overs
14:13 IST Pandya comes into the attack, still bowling round the wicket. FOUR! Dickwella plays it over mid on, gets a boundary. He shuffles across the crease and takes a single towards mid on. Herath on strike, the ball hits his pads and the whole team is excited a dot ball. No review taken after Umpire turns him down. SL 378/8 in 112 overs
14:08 IST Ashwin continues, FOUR! Dickwella hits a boundary off the first ball. He works the next ball towards third man, picks up a couple of runs. Three more singles from the over, reverse sweeps have become quite common in this innings. SL 372/8 in 111 overs
14:05 IST Jadeja continues, Dickwella struggles to score, just one single from the over. Herath survives on the last ball. SL 363/8 in 110 overs
14:02 IST Ashwin continues, Dickwella takes a single off the first ball, plays the reverse sweep, 350 up for Sri Lanka! A dot ball to follow. FOUR! Herath sweeps and gets it fine, a boundary for him towards fine leg. FOUR! Herath tries the sweep once again, this time in front of the wicket, dragged it from the offstump. Ashwin’s carrom ball goes in vain. FOUR! Herath tries the reverse sweep, gets another boundary, cheeky batting from him. SL 362/8 in 109 overs
13:59 IST Jadeja continues, Dickwella on strike, FOUR! He reverse sweeps the ball, brave attempt gets a boundary off the first ball. He takes a single off the third ball. Herath tries to reverse sweep the ball as well, a huge appeal from Jadeja but turned down. SL 349/8 in 108 overs
13:54 IST Ravichandran Ashwin comes to bowl, Herath on strike, he tries to sweep the ball but misses it every time he attempts it. A maiden over from him. SL 344/8 in 107 overs
13:52 IST Rangana Herath comes to bat. A huge lbw appeal off the first ball but turned out by the Umpire. Next ball, Herath sweeps, gets a single off the last ball of the over. SL 344/8 in 106 overs
13:51 IST WICKET! Dhananjaya de Silva c Rahane b Jadeja 17(17)
13:50 IST Jadeja continues, Silva on strike, a top edge off the bat but lands in no man’s land. He is beaten off the next ball trying to cut it towards square. He defends the ball bowled into the wicket. Edged! That one came off the glove, the catch is taken in the slips.WICKET! Jadeja gets his 9th 5-wicket haul in Tests. SL 343/8 in 105.4 overs
Drinks Break
13:42 IST Pandya continues, Dicwella on strike. Somehow Pandya has managed to keep Dickwella quite. He is mixing it up, one after another, he is making it most of this opportunity. Another maiden over from Pandya. SL 343/7 in 104 overs
13:40 IST De Silva continues, FOUR! He sweeps the first ball off the front foot, good positive display of batting from him. FOUR! This time he goes back into the crease and hits it past the point fielder for a boundary, good intent from Silva. FOUR! Here’s another one, this time did not let the ball pitch, that’s three in a row. No runs off the rest of the deliveries. SL 343/7 in 103 overs
13:36 IST Pandya continues, Dickwella is not just hitting every ball he sees like he did in the first innings. He is trying to watch the ball closely and not is even struggling against Pandya. SL 331/7 in 102 overs
13:31 IST Jadeja continues, De Silva on strike, FOUR! He slogs the ball over deep midwicket for a boundary. He takes a single off the next ball. Dickwella comes down the wicket, plays it towards midwicket, a dot ball. He takes a single off the next ball towards fine leg. A dot ball to finish off the over. SL 331/7 in 102 overs
13:28 IST Pandya continues, Dickwella on strike, FOUR! he slices that towards square of the wicket for a boundary. Pandya is surprising him with fuller deliveries, good comeback from him. SL 325/7 in 101 overs
13:25 IST Dhananjaya de Silva defends the rest of the deliveries of the over. SL 321/7 in 100 overs
13:24 IST WICKET! Dilruwan Perera st Saha b Jadeja 4(10)
13:21 IST Jadeja continues, Perera on strike, he is getting the ball to shape away from him. WICKET! He lures him into an advanced shot and Saha makes no mistake, fourth wicket for him. SL 321/7 in 99.3 overs
13:19 IST Pandya continues, Perera is struggling against him. Pandya is trying everything, short ball, yorker, bowls a maiden over. SL 320/6 in 99 overs
13:16 IST Dilruwan Perera comes to bat, he faces two dot balls. Edged and goes past as another ball goes past Kohli’s left hand, FOUR! Perera is off the mark with a boundary. SL 320/6 in 98 overs
13:10 IST WICKET! Angelo Mathews c Saha b Jadeja 36(66) Jadeja gets another wicket and Sri Lanka are in huge trouble now. The inning defeat threat is back on. SL 315/6 in 97.3 overs
13:09 IST Pandya continues, Mathews on strike, he defends the ball towards square leg. He takes a single off the next ball. Dickwella on strike, he defends the first ball towards short cover. He leaves the next ball. Just one single from the over. SL 311/5 in 97 overs
13:08 IST Dickwella comes to bat, he defends the first ball. SL 310/5 in 96 overs
13:01 IST WICKET! Karunaratne c Rahane b Jadeja 141(307)
13:01 IST Jadeja continues, Mathews takes a single towards square leg off the second ball. Karunaratne goes down the track but the spin got the better of him, hits his pads, a dot ball. Edged and gone, WICKET! Karunaratne departs, the ball hits the glove and the opener has to go. He has rescued Sri Lanka from the mouth of an inning defeat, almost. SL 310/5 in 95.4 overs
12:57 IST Pandya continues, Karunaratne on strike, he takes a single after defending two deliveries. The ball hits Mathews pads, a huge appeal but turned down by the Umpire. He takes a single off the last ball of the over. SL 309/4 in 95 overs
12:53 IST Jadeja continues, he is still following a strict line and length against Karunaratne, just a single from the over. Karunaratne has been brilliant with his technique. SL 307/4 in 94 overs
12:51 IST The lunch break is over, Jadeja bowls the first over. Karunaratne and Mathews have not faced many problems yet. But Hardik Pandya coming into the attack seems like a positive move from Kohli. SL 306/4 in 93 overs
Lunch Break!
12:02 IST Last over for the first session, Ashwin continues, Mathews tries to sweep the ball but misses. He shimmies down the wicket, a mild appeal, Mathews picks up a single. Karunaratne takes a single as well. A dot ball to follow as the ball almost takes a top edge. Mathews survives the last over before lunch. SL 302/4 in 91 overs
11:58 IST Jadeja continues, this might be the penultimate over before lunch break. He is spinning the ball away from Mathews. He takes a single off the fourth ball of the over, 300 up for Sri Lanka! SL 300/4 in 90 overs
11:55 IST Umesh continues, Mathews and Karunaratne are looking for singles now, looking to rotate the strike and not let the fast bowler dominate. Five easy singles from the over. SL 299/4 in 89 overs
11:50 IST Karunaratne on strike, Jadeja has been brought back into the attack. An attacking field in place, maiden over from him. SL 294/4 in 88 overs
11:49 IST Umesh continues, two singles from the over. The fast bowlers have put boundaries on hold. Last ball took an edge off Mathews bat but landed short of Rahane. SL 294/4 in 87 overs
11:44 IST Shami continues, he bowls two full deliveries to Karunaratne. FOUR! A boundary from the left-hander. Two more singles from the over. SL 292/4 in 86 overs
11:38 IST Umesh continues, Mathews takes a couple of runs off the second ball of the over. Umesh is trying to go for the lbws. SL 286/4 in 85 overs
11:35 IST Mohammed Shami comes to bowl as the new ball has been taken by Kohli, seam bowling from both the ends. Shami is coming round the wicket to Karunaratne trying to play himself in. A couple of runs off the over. SL 284/4 in 84 overs
11:29 IST Umesh Yadav comes to bowl, he beats Karunaratne on the first ball itself. He defends the next ball, no run. Justs one single from the over. SL 282/4 in 83 overs
11:21 IST Mathews has taken over, he is trying to bat with the application. He is not playing everything in the air like he did in the first innings. He took on Jadeja and hit him for a four and six. Karunaratne is anchoring the innings. SL 281/4 in 82 overs
11:02 IST Just a single from Jadeja’s over. Karunaratne is standings his ground, not panicking still SL 249/4 in 77 overs
11:00 IST Karunaratne gets a boundary off the second ball of the over, he is the flag bearer of Sri Lankan batting lineup. Three more singles from the over. SL 248/4 in 76 overs
10:55 IST Angelo Mathews comes to bat, he is beaten on the first ball, squared up. SL 241/4 in 75 overs
10:52 IST WICKET! Chandimal c Rahane b Jadeja 2(6) Chandimal once again fails to make a mark. India have once again dominated the first session. SL 241/4 in 74 overs
10:52 IST Jadeja continues, Karunaratne is still hanging around, he takes a single off the third ball of the over. Dead ball as Chandimal moves away, as he pulls out the ball his Saha’s head, that was close. Edged and gone, WICKET! SL 241/4 in 73.5 overs
10:49 IST India have got the first breakthrough, got rid of the Night Watchman. Dinesh Chandimal comes to bat, he is surprised by the spin on the first ball, a dot ball. Carrom ball from Ashwin, takes a leaning edge and goes towards slips, a dot ball. He tries to work the ball towards onside, fielded by short leg fielder. SL 240/3 in 73 overs
10:45 IST WICKET! Pushpakumara b Ashwin 16(58) That was a stupid shot from him, trying to play the reverse on drive, completely unnecessary. SL 238/3 in 72.2 overs
16:44 IST Ashwin and Jadeja are trying to bowl the ball into the rough. Pushpakumara and Karunaratne are laterally frustrating India’s spin duo. Just 2 singles from the previous 2 overs. SL 237/2 in 72 overs
10:38 IST Jadeja is bowling from over the wicket, the ball is turning from the rough, FOUR! Another boundary for Pushpakumara, this is frustrating for Indian bowlers. Just four runs from the over. SL 235/2 in 70 overs
10:35 IST Ashwin has been introduced into the attack, Karunaratne defends the first two balls, he takes a single off the next. Two more singles from the over. Puhspakumara is trying too many things, this might not be good for him with the ball turning square. SL 230/2 in 69 overs
10:32 IST Jadeja is turning the ball square now, Pushpakumar survives a brilliant over from the southpaw. SL 227/2 in 68 overs
10:29 IST Shami continues, Karunaratne on strike, he defends the first five deliveries. FOUR! A boundary for Karunaratne and he reaches his 100! SL 227/2 in 67 overs
10:24 IST Jadeja continues, he is coming over the wicket to Karunaratne, he is still being defensive, takes a single off the fifth ball. Pushpakumar again defends. 223/2 in 66 overs
10:21 IST Shami still trying to create that angle of uncertainty by coming round the wicket. Karunaratne is still in his 90’s. He takes a single off the fourth ball of the over. Pushpakumar defends the last two balls. SL 222/2 in 65 overs
10:17 IST Two singles from Jadeja’s over. Meanwhile, Kohli drops a catch in the slips. FOUR! Edged and dropped, Kohli drops the catch and the ball races towards the boundary. Pushpakumara tries to take on Jadeja on the last ball of the over. FOUR! He hits him down the ground, a boundary for him. SL 221/2 in 64 overs
10:12 IST Shami continues, Karunaratne takes a single off the first ball, first runs for the day. Malinda is being extra cautious against the fast bowler. He knows the danger Shami poses. Just two runs off the first ball. SL 211/2 in 63 overs
10:08 IST Jadeja comes to bowl, beats Pushpakumar on the first ball. He is causing problems for the Night Watchman, missing the edge by a whisker. A maiden over from Jadeja. SL 209/2 in 62 overs
10:05 IST Mohammed Shami to bowl the first over of the day, Dimuth Karunaratne on strike. He defends the first ball. He lets the next ball go to Saha, tried to pull away from the shot at the last moment. Karunaratne lets the next ball go to Saha, this time a clean leave. Whoa! That almost missed the inside edge. He drives the next ball towards cover, a dot ball. A maiden over for Shami. SL 209/2 in 61 overs
09:59 IST Players are back in the field for the first session of play.
09:54 IST We are a few minutes away from the live action, stay tuned for Day 4 updates.
09:45 IST According to Russell Arnold the pitch is starting to tire. Good news for Indian bowlers?
09:35 IST Malinda Pushpakumar hung on to the crease and survived the third session, he can add to the frustration for Indian bowlers on Day 4 as well.
09:19 IST Spin will play a major part on Day 4 as the ball is 60-over-old and the pitch has started to wear and tear.
09:07 IST Blast from the past— Sri Lanka Team scored the highest ever total in Test innings (952 for 6 against India) on this day as Sanath Jayasuriya scored 340 and Roshan Mahanama scored 225.
With Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis posting the first-century partnership by Sri Lanka against India while following on, it will be remembered for a long time. But, India made their way back into the game in the third session taking Mendis’ wicket. Now the game is wide open for the visitors once again. They need an opening so that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja could exploit the pitch. They are currently trailing by 230 runs. Though it is yet to be seen whether the fight-back continues or an inning-defeat is in store!
Weather Report:
Showers are once again expected at Colombo. Though weather forecast were not spot on on Day 3, it is quite unclear whether the rain will play a spoilsport in the game or not.
— Cricvids (@Cricvids1) August 5, 2017
— Cricvids (@Cricvids1) August 5, 2017
Pitch Report:
The pitch is deteriorating, there is no doubt it. But the question is at what rate? There is turn that can be extracted from the pitch but has not shown signs of something extraordinary yet. With roller coming into play, Indian spinners might not get that much support in the first session but as the game progresses the ball is expected to turn a lot.
Playing XIs
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Angelo Mathews, Niroshan Dickwella(wk), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhananjaya de Silva, Malinda Pushpakumara
