India’s batsmen completely dominated the opening day of the final Test against Sri Lanka at New Delhi.
On a flat Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli made merry as Sri Lanka’s bowlers were given the run-around on a long and tiring day.
Here, we look at the good and the bad from the first day.
THE GOOD
MURALI VIJAY’S SECOND CONSECUTIVE TON
The Indian opener’s injury had sidelined him when India toured Sri Lanka a few months earlier. Since then, his replacement Shikhar Dhawan, has put up some impressive performances to cement his place in the side. Vijay’s return to fitness coincided with Dhawan taking a break in the second Test due to personal reasons.
Vijay capitalized with a superb ton in the Nagpur Test which has seen India’s third opener KL Rahul miss out on Saturday as Dhawan once again returned straight into the playing XI. Rahul might have to spend some more time on the bench after Vijay put together another impressive unbeaten ton on the opening day. It was the 33-year-old’s 11th Test hundred in 89 innings.
Back to back Test hundreds for Murali Vijay… just what Indian cricket fans wanted to see before Cape Town. Dhawan/Rahul to toss a coin for that second spot on Jan 5 then. #IndvSL
— Chetan Narula (@chetannarula) December 2, 2017
VIRAT KOHLI’S THIRD-CONSECUTIVE TEST HUNDRED
The Indian skipper seems to be on a different level in this series. After coming into bat in the 21st over of the day, Kohli was in complete control from the very first ball as he collected runs in brisk fashion.
The 28-year-old brought up his quickest Test hundred in just 110 deliveries while also going past the 5,000-run mark in the process. Bringing up his 20th Test ton in front of his home crowd, Kohli has now registered three hundreds in as many innings, with one in each Test. This feat has made him the first captain in Test history to do so on two different occasions.
Three in a row! @imVkohli has reached a century in his third consecutive innings against Sri Lanka! What a player! 🙌 #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/xkk76qbiyn
— ICC (@ICC) December 2, 2017
THE BAD
AJINKYA RAHANE FAILS AGAIN
The deputy Test skipper has had a miserable series despite the other Indian batsmen flourishing. With scores of 4, 0, and 2 in the three innings so far in the series coming into the final Test, it was imperative that Rahane spent some time in the middle with the South Africa tour coming up next.
However, he was undone for just one run by Lakshay Sandakan towards the end of the day, being stumped by Niroshan Dickwella after attempting a loose drive. With just seven runs in four innings now, Rahane will now head to South Africa without any sort of form, given he is not a part of the Indian limited-overs setup. He will desperately be hoping for a final shot in the second innings but given the way the islanders have batted so far, he might not get it.
Ajinkya Rahane in This #IndvSL Series :
4
0
2
1🚶🚶🚶🚶
— Haamid Yuvan (@viewhaamid) December 2, 2017
DILRUWAN PERERA HAS A LONG TOIL
The senior Sri Lankan spinner did not have the best of days either at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. The 35-year-old might well have notched up his 100th Test wicket when he dismissed Dhawan but he along with Sandakan leaked runs galore.
The off-spinner was swatted around by Kohli and Pujara with ease as he failed to create any sort of pressure with the ball.
Perera failed to create any sort of pressure on the batsmen.
