Dilshan's fluent ton leads Lankans charge
The second day truly belonged to Sri Lanka. First, their bowlers stepped on the gas and fast-tracked the end of Indian innings at 426 and then their batsmen took over. Opener Dilshan Tillakaratne dominated Indian bowling attack and scored a belligerent century (112) to power his team to 275 for 3 at stumps.
 Opener Dilshan Tillakaratne dominated Indian bowling attack and scored a belligerent century (112) to power his team to 275 for 3 at stumps. © AFP |
It was a superlative effort from the man who has been in rollicking form of late. Freedom and lack of restrain defined Dilshan’s innings, as he played some delectable shots all over the park. He particularly went after both the spinners, Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra and clobbered them to the fence on quite a few occasions. It was not surprising that his century came in only 120 deliveries.
The emotional celebration after reaching his 10th Test hundred, however, did not last long, as medium pacer Zaheer Khan’s bouncer did him in. The bouncer hurried Dilshan into his pull shot, which didn’t quite come off the way he wanted. The top edge was caught by Rahul Dravid, who added one more catch to his record tally (185).
Zaheer’s ploy of surprising batsmen with bouncers proved quite effective. He struck again, when skipper Kumar Sangakkara’s (31) hook shot was neatly caught by Sachin Tendulkar on the fine leg boundary.
The double-blow not only broke the prolific 115-run stand between Dilshan and Sangakkara but also put brakes on the flow of runs, which until then had come at a brisk pace. However, Mahela Jayawardene (36) and Thilan Samaraweera (45) ensured that there were no further damage and forged an unbeaten 81-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Zaheer, who was the pick of the Indian bowlers, got his due when in his last spell he knocked off the two most dangerous Lankan batsmen — Dilshan and Sangakkara. His final spell of five overs got him two wickets for just four runs.
Harbhajan started to generate turn and bounce in the last session, after toiling hard for the first five hours of the day. The off-spinner appeared a different bowler altogether in the final session. He flighted the ball, got it to bounce off the surface and kept the line just outside the off-stump, putting brakes on the flow of runs. However, he was unlucky not to add a number against his wicket column.
 Zaheer gives India double-break by dismissing ominous Dilshan and Sangakkara. © AFP |
Just when the Sri Lankan openers, Dilshan and Paranavitana were looking comfortably settled to put up a big stand, Ishant Sharma struck. He removed Paranavitana with a delivery that left the batsman, taking an outside edge with keeper Dhoni pulling off a stunning catch, diving to his wrong side.
Dilshan carried on impressively and notched up his first hundred on the Indian soil. His 112 is now the highest score by a Sri Lankan in India. The Indian spinners struggled against the Lankan batsmen in the first two sessions, as even the slightest of wavering deliveries were punished to the fence.
In the morning session, the Lankan bowlers did a commendable job of dismissing India for 426, allowing their last four wickets to add a mere 41 runs.
The second day crowd at Motera must have been disappointed to see Dravid walking back to the pavilion without adding anything to his overnight score of 177. Welegedara was once again the man for Sri Lanka, as he moved the ball with telling effect and started off with a maiden over to Dravid. He made the batsman come forward and drive the ball.
In his next over, after bowling three more dot balls, he got his man. He brought one back in, which took the inside edge of Dravid’s bat and went on to dislodge the stumps.
