Dhawan explodes on opening day at Galle

Asela Gunaratne writhes in pain after attempting to take a catch offered by Shikhar Dhawan. Gunaratne fractured his left thumb and has been ruled out of the ongoing Test.

Gunaratne breaks thumb - ruled out of Test:

GALLE: Sri Lanka found out for themselves yesterday – the first day of the first Test against India at the Galle International Stadium that playing against the lowest ranked Test team and the top ranked side there was a great divide.

The way Sri Lanka struggled to beat low rated Zimbabwe in the one-off Test, taking on number one ranked India proved a tad too big a task for them, especially with the present side that lacks a lot by way of experience.

The end result was that India who won the toss and took lease of a hard batting track posted an imposing first day score of 399 for three wickets with more to come today as they have batting as deep as upto number nine.

The day no doubt belonged to left-handed opener Shikhar Dhawan who played an explosive innings of 190 off 168 balls. For one moment one was left wondering whether Dhawan had got his priorities wrong and was playing in a fifty-over one-day international. Such was the intensity with which he dominated the Lankan bowling that his strike rate was a stunning 113 compared to his career rate of 60 in Tests.

The longer Dhawan stayed at the wicket the quicker the runs started to come. He completed his first fifty off 62 balls, his second fifty off 48 and his third off 37.

As long as Dhawan was at the wicket he made batting look so easy against pace and using his feet to the spinners to drive, sweep and cut with disdain that he reached the boundary on no less than 31 occasions.

The 126 runs he made between lunch and tea was the second-highest by an Indian in a single session of play. Virender Sehwag made 133 (of his 293) in the final session against Sri Lanka at the Brabourne Stadium in 2009. Dhawan who began on 64 after lunch finished with 190 at tea. England’s Denis Compton holds the record for the most runs scored in the middle session with 173 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 1954.

With Pujara who also made a hundred although not with the same aggression as Dhawan, the pair added 253 runs for the second wicket off 280 balls.

If Sri Lanka was to break this partnership it had to come from the batsmen making a mistake. With tea approaching Dhawan may have wanted a double century against his name at the break and in his haste to get there he tried to clear mid-off but instead hit the ball straight to Mathews who was stationed there.

With Dhawan’s dismissal the Indian scoring rate that was galloping at well over five an over assumed normal proportions, but still it was quite a healthy one as the end of the day showed. Dhawan’s last Test hundred was also at Galle – 134 in August 2015 when India last toured but since then he has gone through 14 innings scoring only a solitary fifty. He was not in the original tour party but was drafted into the side following a recurrence of a wrist injury to Murali Vijay. Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane further dented the Lankan bowling putting together an unfinished stand of 113 by the close. Pujara scored his 12th Test hundred and second against Sri Lanka to remain not out on 144 scored off 246 balls with 12 fours and Rahane was on 39.

GUNARATNE INJURY

Sri Lanka could have snared Dhawan at 31 had Asela Gunaratne at second slip held onto the edge off Lahiru Kumara. Gunaratne not only put down Dhawan but also hurt himself and according to the team’s cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha ruled himself out of the current Test.

Fears are that he would be out of the entire series as X’rays has revealed a fractured left thumb. Gunaratne was transferred to Colombo to undergo surgery.

Gunaratne’s loss would be a big blow to Sri Lanka who are already without their Test captain Dinesh Chandimal - recovering from a bout of pneumonia. Gunaratne has turned out to be a utility cricketer with his ability to score runs and take wickets whenever the team needed it most across all formats.

On a day of hard toil Nuwan Pradeep stood tall for Sri Lanka capturing all three Indian wickets to fall for the day.

Pradeep returning to the side after a hamstring injury almost caused hearts to flutter in the Lankan camp when he lost his footing and nearly roled his right ankle in the 12th over of the innings. Thankfully it turned out to be nothing serious.

On a first day pitch with hardly any turn or help for the bowlers, India played the left-arm spin of Herath quite comfortably.

He is the main threat in the Lankan bowling line up and the Indian batsmen made him redundant by depriving him of a single wicket.

Sri Lanka gave a Test cap to Danushka Gunathilaka who took the place of Chandimal - making him the 140th Test player to represent the country. India debuted hard hitting all-rounder Hardik Pandya ahead of Rohit Sharma.