Welcome to Sportstar 's LIVE coverage of Day 2 of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.
LIVE COMMENTARY
Another day dominated by the home team. Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer hit half-centuries to get India a sizeable lead of 447. Could India have bowled more overs under lights? Maybe, but the timing of the declaration was still more or less appropriate. Quite prudent.
Sri Lanka now needs a miracle to save this Test. Actually, it has to chase this down: it seems unlikely that the batters would be able to put down their shutters for two full days.
Join us for what will likely be the final day of this Test, tomorrow, at 2pm. Goodbye.
Sri Lanka 28/1 in 7 overs: A short break in play as Mendis is hit near the elbow by a delivery from Shami and he gets medical attention.
Short delivery from Shami, pulled excellently by Mendis for four through square leg.
Time for spin. R. Ashwin comes on to bowl. Slip, silly point, leg slip, and forward short leg in place for Mendis. Carrom ball, huge shout for lbw! Pitches on a good length, hits the back leg of the batter. Not out, says the umpire. It's not reviewed. Ashwin switches side and bowls from around the wicket; it's short, and Mendis pulls well for another four. Last ball: it's an off-spinner, the edge of the bat is taken as Mendis comes forward to defend, but the ball falls safely between the close-in fielders on the leg side. That's it, end of the day's play.
SL 19/1 in 5 overs: Shami gives away a boundary on the last delivery of his first over. It drifted on to the pads of Karunaratne, who put it away well. The ball raced to the boundary through square leg.
Full toss from Bumrah, Mendis clips it away to long leg for a boundary.
A probing over from Shami to Karunaratne. Karunaratne collects one boundary, drives at a good-length delivery in the corridor; the ball flies through the backward point region for four.
Three runs from Bumrah's third over: a single and a couple. Karunaratne capitalised on a delivery drifting to his pads, he clips it to square for two.
Sri Lanka 1/1 in 1 over (target: 447): Just a few overs left in the day's play. Bumrah to bowl the first over of Sri Lanka's innings. Attacking field - three slips and a gully in place for Lahiru Thirimanne.
Bumrah gets the third delivery of the over to swing into the left hander. Late swing there. Hits the pads. The umpire gives it out! Thirimanne reviews, but can't get the decision overturned. Sri Lanka one wicket down.
Lahiru Thirimanne lbw b Bumrah 0 (3b)
First ball to Kusal Mendis is an excellent one. Late swing again! Almost a yorker length, it's quick as well. Mendis plays all around it. Huge appeal, not given. Going down the leg side, probably. Some excitement again as Karunaratne is hit on the thigh, but it's too high.
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India 303/9 dec. (68.5 overs): Three hundred up for India. Axar plays a late cut off Embuldeniya for two runs. Then he flicks to the leg side for two more. And bowled! Tries the late cut again, but can't put bat to ball, the ball crashes into the stumps.
Rohit has declared. India is ahead by 446 runs. Sri Lanka needs 447 to win.
India 299/8 in 68 overs: Embuldeniya replaces Fernando, and the bowling change works one more time. Short of a length, comes in with the angle from around the stumps. Shreyas tries to defend from his crease but the ball hits his thigh instead. Umpire gives it out.
Shreyas decides to refer it, but the on-field verdict stays. Three reds.
Shreyas Iyer lbw b Embuldeniya 67 (87b, 94)
Mohammed Shami, the No. 10, flicks the next delivery to the midwicket boundary. Nice way to get off the mark.
Jayawickrama bowls a short delivery, it's cut nicely by Axar for four. Jayawickrama tosses the ball up to Shami, and Shami tees off for six! Towards long on.
India 278/7 in 66 overs: Anguish for Fernando and Sri Lanka. Swings the ball into Ashwin, who tries to defend from his crease but the ball touches the inside edge of the bat and runs away to fine leg for four.
Jayawickrama replaces Embuldeniya. And he gets rid of Ashwin. Ashwin tries to cut, but gets an edge through to wicketkeeper Dickwella.
R. Ashwin c Dickwella b Jayawickrama 13 (25b, 1x4)
Slip, short leg and leg-slip in place for the new batter Axar Patel.
India 271/6 in 64 overs: R. Ashwin, the new batter, negotiates a short-of-a-length delivery from Embuldeniya from his crease. Then he steps down the pitch to smother the ball. He flicks to midwicket off the fifth delivery of the over to pick up two runs. Embuldeniya's final delivery is an excellent one; pitches on a good length, turns past Ashwin's bat.
Ashwin flicks one from Fernando to pick up two runs through midwicket. The fielder at midwicket - Suranga Lakmal - partially stopped the ball. The lead is past 400 now.
Four byes - Embuldeniya's delivery goes down the leg side, goes through the legs of the wicketkeeper who was blinded by the batter standing in front of him.
India 258/6 in 61 overs: Short and wide from Vishwa Fernando, and cut to the fence by Shreyas Iyr. Excellent stroke. That brings up Shreyas' 50. He is just the sixth Indian batter to score a 50-plus score in both innings.
Fernando strikes! Jadeja is out bowled. He was looking to play the ball late, perhaps to guide it to the third man. He does put bat on ball, but the ball rolls on to the stumps.
Ravindra Jadeja b Fernando 22 (45b, 3x4)
Some width on offer for Shreyas and he slashes hard. The ball travels over the slip cordon and to the boundary. And another. This time he was in control of his stroke. It was an off-cutter from the left-arm seamer, short of a length; Shreyas guides the ball through the gap between second slip and gully.
IND 238/5 in 58 overs: The fifty-run stand is up as Shreyas guides a widish delivery from Embuldeniya past the slip fielders for four. Shreyas has been given out LBW but he goes upstairs straightaway. Must be an inside edge. Inside edge it is as the UltraEdge shows a clear spike as the ball passes the bat.
IND 229/5 in 55 overs: There is an appeal for LBW/caught behind as Shreyas is clipped on the back thigh. The umpire, however, isn't interested. Another optimistic shout in the next over as Jadeja offers no shot. The ball was doing a bit too much anyway. Embuldeniya overpitches the first ball of the 54th and that has been put away by Shreyas. He follows it up with another four, clobbered this time through the midwicket area.
IND 211/5 in 50 overs: Shreyas brings up the 200 for India with a pull through midwicket for a boundary. Next, with no second slip or third man in place, the ball rolls down to the fence, courtesy of a thick edge off Jadeja's blade. The runs are coming thick and fast now as Shreyas welcomes Jayawickrama back with a boundary.
Welcome back. Expect quick runs from Shreyas, Jadeja, and the rest.
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Lots of action in this session. Pant cut and lofted his way to an excellent half-century, another innings of his that will stay in the memory for long. Of course, Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari batted well, too. Kohli once again departed quickly.
India's lead is now 342. Perhaps the batters may extend it to 400 or so. India may like to bowl under lights to Sri Lanka's batters, so a declaration may not be too far ahead.
Join us, in about half hour, for the third session.
India 199/5 in 47 overs: Shout for lbw, and it's given! Was it going over the top? Turned in sharply, this delivery from Embuldeniya. Jadeja played back to it, and the ball hit his right leg. It isn't going to miss the stumps! But the impact is outside off! So Jadeja survives.
Another frugal over, and it's dinner .
India 197/5 in 46 overs: Ravindra Jadeja is the new batter, he is off the mark with a boundary. Cuts a short delivery to pick up four runs through backward point.
A relatively quieter over. Four runs from Jayawickrama's 13th over - two singles and a couple.
A leg slip, a short leg, and a slip in place for Jayawickrama as he bowls to Jadeja.
India 184/5 in 42 overs: Half-century for Rishabh Pant! Off just 28 deliveries. It's a full delivery from Jayawickrama and he smashes it to extra cover. This is now the fastest half-century by an Indian batter.
A review taken by Sri Lanka. Lots of turn to Jayawickrama as he gets the ball to pitch half a metre outside off-stump. Pant offers no shot, but the ball is missing the leg-stump.
But it doesn't matter. Pant is gone. He comes down the pitch to hit out once again, but slices the ball up. Jayawickrama takes the catch. What an entertaining innings.
Rishabh Pant c & b Jayawickrama 50 (31b, 7x4, 2x6)
India 179/4 in 41 overs: A review taken by Sri Lanka after an appeal for caught-behind is turned down. Ultra-edge shows that the ball touched the pad as it went through to the wicketkeeper. It was a delivery on leg-stump, and Shreyas Iyer attempted to help the ball on its way; the ball didn't touch the bat.
Lakmal into the attack. Pant comes down the pitch and slaps the ball through extra-cover. Pure disdain. He is now five runs away from a half-century. Lakmal sprays the ball down the leg side and Shreyas pulls it away to fine leg for four. Short again, and pulled to fine leg for a single.
India 165/4 in 39 overs: It's all happening suddenly. Now Kohli has to depart! Low bounce was what undid him in the first innings, and low bounce is what gets him this time. The bowler: Jayawickrama. The ball is short of a length, Kohli stays back in his crease to play it to the leg side, the ball stays low and hits him on the right leg. It was plumb in front of the wickets.
Kohli knew it. He consulted his partner but was advised not to go for the review.
Virat Kohli lbw b Jayawickrama 13 (16b, 1x4)
Pant, meanwhile, carries on merrily, playing the reverse-sweep and the ramp stroke well to pick up boundaries. All kinds of cheeky strokes are being attempted. And when the bowler pitches short, he doesn't need to play those strokes, he can just pull, which he does to pick up four runs off Jayawickrama. Pant has raced to 35; his strike rate: 194.44.
Dhananjaya bowls short and wide, it's cut to the point boundary by Pant. Loose delivery, that one.
India 139/3 in 35 overs:Now Vihari departs! Attempts a sweep shot off Jayawickrama but cannot put bat to ball. The ball goes on straight after pitching, sneaks through and hits timber. Vihari out for 35. India three down.
Hanuma Vihari b Jayawickrama 35 (79b, 4x4)
An attacking field for Kohli - slip, gully, and silly point. He gets a short delivery and slaps it away to deep extra-cover for a single. Rishabh Pant, the new batter, decides to come down the pitch off the second ball he faces, and it's a six to cow corner .
Runs coming fairly quickly now, as both Kohli and Pant are playing their strokes and picking up singles and twos. The field is spread. Now, ha uge shout for lbw as Pant late-cuts a delivery for four. Right next to his stumps. But the ball hadn't hit the pads.
Another six! Pant comes down the track and lofts to long-off. Kohli is enjoying it, smiles as he punches gloves with his partner.
India 116/2 in 33 overs: Rush of blood, and gone! Runs were coming in a trickle, and Rohit tried to break the shackles by going down the pitch for a huge six. But instead, he holes out to Angelo Mathews at deep midwicket. Rohit looked away immediately after making that stroke, knowing he had made a mistake.
The crowd, however, goes ballistic as Kohli comes out to bat.
Rohit Sharma c Mathews b Dhananjaya 46 (79b, 4x4)
Kohli off the mark with a flick to leg for two runs. A huge shout for lbw, and it's not given. Replays suggest the decision would have been overturned. Jayawickrama bamboozles Vihari with an arm ball - it came in with the angle after pitching even as Vihari stood in his crease to negotiate it. The ball would have been hitting the leg stump.
Kohli announces himself! Steps down the track to Dhananjaya and lofts the ball down the ground for four runs. Crowd is delighted. Four more, is it? As Vihari pulls out the reverse sweep. Yes, nice work by the fielder at the backward point boundary. Two runs.
India 98/1 in 30 overs: Dhananjaya de Silva back into the attack. Rohit sweeps hard from outside the off-stump, picks up a single. The ball travelled quickly to the fielder at deep midwicket.
A short delivery from Jayawickrama, driven off the back-foot to deep midwicket.
Shouts of 'catch' as Rohit plays the sweep to de Silva's delivery. The ball bounces well before coming to the fielder at fine leg. Just a single.
A maiden over from Jayawickrama.
India 87/1 in 25 overs: Jayawickrama's delivery drifts down the leg side and Rohit paddle-sweeps to pick up two runs. Moves to 37. These are the first runs of his spell.
Sharp turn, as the bowlers gets the ball to pitch on leg stump and turn away.
Embuldeniya continues. Greeted with a cover drive for four by Vihari. It was flighted, and full, outside off-stump. Picture-perfect drive from the batter. In his next over, he bowls a full toss on leg-stump, Vihari collects a four through midwicket. Vihari tucks a ball to fine leg to pick up two runs.
India 72/1 in 20 overs: Welcome back. Embuldeniya to bowl the first over after tea. It's a short ball first up, Vihari seizes on the opportunity and pulls hard to deep midwicket for four. Vihari moves to 12.
And what a comeback from the bowler! Full, on off-stump, Vihari presses forward to defend, the ball spins past his bat and evades the wicketkeeper for byes. Two runs. There was sharp bounce, on that one.
Four more as Rohit reverse-sweeps again and gets four runs through third man. And another lifter! The ball pitches on a good length and takes off, Rohit just about managing to negotiate that one safely.
Good news for Sri Lanka. Jayawickrama is back. He's going to bowl the second over. He's still limping a bit, though, but he's doing the job for his team. Oh and the ball stays low! Short of a length, Vihari stays in his crease and in the nick of time gets his bat on the ball to defend.
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Wickets continue to fall, in this Test. Five wickets in this session. India will be buoyed by the size of its first-innings lead. The question, as we progress through the day, will be: how many runs are enough to defend? The lead is already 204. Join us in a bit for the post-tea session.
India 61/1 in 18 overs: De Silva gives away two runs off his second over, the final over before tea. Rohit and Vihari both pick up their singles by tucking the ball towards fine leg.
India 59/1 in 17 overs: First boundary for Vihari. It's a fullish delivery from Fernando; Vihari goes through with his drive and picks up four through extra cover. Moves to 5.
Rohit brings out the conventional sweep, this time, off Embuldeniya, and it's safe. Lands in the vacant midwicket region. Two runs taken.
Dhananjaya de Silva comes on to bowl, replacing Fernando. One from the over, Agarwal glancing the ball to fine leg for a single. Another frugal over, this time from Embuldeniya; a no-ball in the over prevents it from being a maiden.
India 48/1 in 13 overs: Embuldeniya flights the ball, Agarwal steps out and drives it, staying leg-side of the ball, to pick up four runs through extra cover. The ball went like a rocket. But Embuldeniya has the last laugh; next ball, Agarwal comes forward to defend but edges to gully.
First wicket down for India.
Mayank Agarwal c de Silva b Embuldeniya 22 (34b, 5x4)
DRS taken by Sri Lanka. The ball from Vishwa Fernando hit Hanuma Vihari on the back leg as the batter stayed in his crease to defend it. Not out is the verdict as it's 'umpire's call' on the question of whether the ball was hitting the stumps.
Embuldeniya drops it short and Rohit pulls again, collecting four runs through midwicket. Lusty heave, that one. Just one more from that over.
India 37/0 in 10 overs: Vishwa Fernando into the attack. Full, on leg-stump, helped on its way by Agarwal. Four runs.
Four more, as Agarwal awkwardly tries to defend a good length delivery from his crease. The ball hits the outside edge of the bat and runs away to the third man boundary - all along the ground.
Embuldeniya replaces Lakmal. Rohit attacks straightaway, pulls out the reverse-sweep - four runs through backward point. Tries again, but this time can't middle it.
DROPPED! Full, outside the off-stump, Rohit tries a late cut of sorts but Lahiru Thirimanne can't hold on. He extends his left hand to pouch the ball but the ball drops out. He had very little time to react, but it was a chance nonetheless.
India 23/0 in 7 overs: Full delivery from Lakmal. Driven down the ground for a couple of runs by Rohit. Then a punch off the back-foot for no run.
Praveen Jayawickrama, who fielded the ball at point, is in pain. He's clutching his right knee. Medical support arrives for him, and he is being taken off the field. Sri Lanka will hope he will recover soon as he's one of the team's main spinners. Took three wickets in the first innings.
Chamika Karunaratne has come on as a substitute.
Meanwhile, Lakmal bowls short, and Rohit pulls. The fielder at deep square leg runs to deep midwicket to prevent the ball from going over the boundary. He dives and scrambles. Two runs.
India 18/0 in 6 overs: Lakmal bowls another tight over. Another maiden.
First boundary for India, in the second innings. Mayank gets a full delivery and he drives it fiercely, using the strength of his bottom hand, to pick up four runs through extra cover. Embuldeniya bowling full, outside or on off-stump. Lots of flight.
First runs off Lakmal in this spell. Agarwal guides the ball through third man for a four. Short of a length again, in the corridor.
Expensive third over from Embuldeniya. Rohit cuts a short ball for four, sweeps twice for a total of four runs.
India 1/0 in 2 overs: India's openers come out to bat. Mayank Agarwal and Rohit Sharma. Rohit has a short chat with Angelo Mathews about something. Two slips and a gully for Lakmal, who is bowling in the final bowling innings of his Test career.
Good length, in the corridor to Agarwal in the first over. It's a maiden.
It's spin, in the second over itself. Embuldeniya to bowl to Rohit. Two slips and a forward short leg in place. Rohit drives a full delivery and picks up a single; it's partially stopped by short cover.
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Jasprit Bumrah has a five-wicket haul, his first in Tests in India. He bowled with pace but used his variations his effectively to pick those wickets.
Shami and the spinners - in particular, Ashwin - played their part, too.
SL 109 in 35.5 overs: Suranga Lakmal is not wasting any time. He slogs to the leg side to pick up four runs off Ashwin. Next delivery, he is foxed by a leg-spinner from Ashwin - BOWLED. Sri Lanka eight down now.
Suranga Lakmal b Ashwin 5 (9b, 1x4)
Bumrah resumes, gets rid of Dickwella! It's a bouncer at the throat; the batter bends to evade it but ends up parrying the ball to the keeper. Well no exactly - it just touches the gloves en route.
Niroshan Dickwella c Pant b Bumrah 21 (38b, 3x4)
Vishwa Fernando survives a testing over, playing out the rest of the deliveries. It's a wicket-maiden. He digs out a yorker, and defends a slower ball.
Fernando hitting out. He is slog-sweeping Ashwin. A full delivery is dispatched to the extra cover boundary. But Ashwin has the last laugh: he bowls a carrom ball slower through the air, Fernando attempts a stroke but misses and is stumped. All this while, Rishabh Pant from behind the stumps has been asking Ashwin to bowl it slower, and it worked. Sri Lanka bowled out for 109. It's a 143-run lead for the Indian team.
Vishwa Fernando st Pant b Ashwin 8 (8b, 1x4)
SL 96/7 in 33 overs: A swarm of insects on the stadium is delaying the start of play on day two. Bumrah with the pink ball. To bowl to Dickwella. It's a boundary first up as he steers the ball through the gap between point and third slip.
Action replay. Next ball is similar. Slightly more bounce on this one. Steered away for another boundary. Bumrah bowls fuller in the rest of the over; off one of the deliveries, Dickwella attempts a drive but misses.
Ashwin bowls the second over. A single from it. Referral taken by India as Ashwin's delivery turns past the bat of Dickwella. No edge on it.
Lasith Embuldeniya tries to pull a delivery from Bumrah and pays the price; it's a top edge, and the wicketkeeper makes no mistake. SL seven down.
Lasith Embuldeniya c Pant b Bumrah 1 (16b)
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"As the day progressed, the pitch got better to bat on. And under lights the ball swung a bit. Today, we'll keep it simple and maintain a good line and length, and the pitch will do the rest."
- Rishabh Pant
REPORT, DAY 1
Shreyas Iyer's 92 shone bright on a treacherous M Chinnaswamy pitch where 16 wickets fell on day one of the pink-ball Test between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The Mumbai batter top-scored in India's 252 all-out. In response, at stumps, Sri Lanka was tottering at 86/6.
India began the bowling with Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin. Bumrah got Kusal Mendis caught at third slip with an outswinger and in his very next over, had Lahiru Thirimanne nicking to third slip again.
After just a two-over spell from Ashwin, Rohit Sharma turned to Mohammed Shami, who clean bowled Dimuth Karunaratne with a in-dipper to leave Sri Lanka 14 for 3. He had his second when he trapped Dhananjaya de Silva in front. Axar Patel then removed Charith Asalanka and Bumrah nipped out Angelo Mathews to put the host side in the ascendancy.
READ:
Earlier, on a square-turner with inconsistent bounce, Iyer gave a stunning exhibition of his defensive technique, batting almost risk-free — he was dropped on 50,68 and 82— from the first ball. Iyer was stumped just eight short of what would have been a sensational hundred in trying conditions.
His unerring selection and execution of his attacking strokes made it a connoisseur's delight. But three strokes captured the essence of his batting. The first one was a drive between extra cover and mid-off off Lasith Embuldeniya for four. The second was a six over midwicket off Dhananjaya de Silva that took him from 37 to 43. The last, a straight six against a turning ball from P. Jayawickrama, after he had brought up his 50 off just 54 balls.
AS IT HAPPENED:
Rohit won the toss and chose to bat. There was a huge lbw appeal against Mayank Agarwal off an in-swinger early on. Given not-out initially, Agarwal decided to steal a run as the ball rolled over to the vacant cover region. Agarwal, halfway down the pitch despite Rohit's apparent disinterest, was unable to beat Jayawickrama's throw. It was a lucky escape for Sri Lanka since had it reviewed, Agarwal would've been not-out as he had got an inside edge and it was a no-ball.
Given the dry nature of the wicket, Embuldeniya was introduced inside the first 10 overs and he struck in his second over. At 2:50 pm, Rohit offered a simple chance to gully. The moment the ball landed in Dhananjay's hands, a near-capacity crowd, most of them screaming, rose to their feet. There walked Virat Kohli, amid raucous chants of "Virat, Virat!". His first scoring shot was a scorching cover-drive off Embuldeniya.
Sri Lanka switched to spin from both ends in the 13th over with Jayawickrama coming on. Hanuma Vihari, meanwhile, prioritised defence and made sure he didn't get beaten on the inside edge by the straighter balls. He played well for his 31 before Jayawickrama got one to grip, turn and bounce, and Niroshan Dickwella took a sharp catch behind the stumps.
With left-handed Rishabh Pant coming ahead of Shreyas Iyer, off-spinner Dhananjaya was summoned. He immediately got Kohli out lbw for 23 with one that turned from outside off and kept low to hit his front pad.
At 86 for 4, Pant expectantly changed the tempo of the innings with a 26-ball 39, studded with seven fours, but was clean bowled by Embuldeniya shortly after the tea break. Embuldeniya had his third wicket when he got Ravindra Jadeja gloving to slip with one that turned and cramped the batter for room. Ashwin, Axar Patel and Shami fell in quick session but Iyer ensured India didn't feel the pinch of the late fall of wickets.
Sri Lanka further helped the cause by allowing Iyer to farm the strike with ease in the company of last man Bumrah. The opposition spinners were also guilty of offering a buffet of half-volleys and half-trackers on a helpful wicket and paid the price.
- Ayan Acharya
TEAMS (from)
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hanuma Vihari, S. Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Saurabh Kumar, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Dhananjaya de Silva (vc), Angelo Mathews, Charith Asalanka, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama, Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Jeffrey Vandersay.
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