Third Test, Mumbai, day one (close):
Sri Lanka 366-8 v India
An exquisite 109 from Tillakaratne Dilshan helped Sri Lanka reach 366-8 at the end the opening day of the third and final Test against India in Mumbai.
On a lively pitch, Dilshan and Angelo Mathews (86 not out) ensured the match, which the tourists must win to level the series, remains evenly poised.
Sri Lanka raced to 93-1 in 19.5 overs, but were pegged back as India got three middle-order wickets in the afternoon.
Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was the pick of the bowlers with 4-107.
Dilshan's century, his second of the series, was the fillip the tourists needed following their comprehensive innings and 144-run defeat in the second Test.
Sri Lanka have not won a Test on Indian soil since 1982, but their showing on the first day - scoring the most runs in a day for a visiting team - suggests they could come close to achieving a historic victory at the Brabourne stadium.
India, on the other hand, know that a win would take them to the top of the world Test rankings for the first time.
Dilshan and fellow opener Tharanga Paranavitana (53) withstood some tricky spells from Harbhajan and Sreesanth to keep up a healthy run-rate, reaching 117-1 by lunch.
Paranavitana's quick-fire innings, which included seven boundaries, came to an end when he edged Harbhajan's looping off-spinner to first slip.
Sri Lanka ended the morning session in the ascendancy but, on a pitch which had plenty of swing, bounce and turn, India's bowlers responded in the afternoon session.
Kumar Sangakkara (18), Mahela Jayawardene (29) and Thilan Samaraweera (1) were all dismissed after lunch as Sri Lanka slipped from 128-1 to 188-4.
Dilshan, who hit 10 fours and two sixes, was the one constant at the crease as he went on to score his 11th Test century, reaching 1,000 runs for the year during his 160-ball innings.
However, his innings came to an end when umpire Nigel Llong controversially gave him out lbw to Harbhajan when replays indicated there was neither bat nor glove involved.
Mathews and Prasanna Jayawardene revived the innings with a 67-run stand for the sixth wicket.
But Jayawardene tried to hit Pragyan Ojha over the top only to find Harbhajan at mid-on, while Zaheer removed Nuwan Kulasekara (12) in the final session and Harbhajan dismissed Rangana Herath for one.
Meanwhile, India have recalled Sreesanth to their one-day squad for the two Twenty20 internationals and first two one-day matches of the series with Sri Lanka beginning on 9 December.
Sreesanth replaced Munaf Patel and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took the place of leg-spinner Amit Mishra.
Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were rested for the Twenty20 matches, with uncapped off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and medium-pacer Ashok Dinda called up....LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment