India built on their excellent start on Day 1 with a fine performance on Day 2, as premier all-rounder duo Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took the game away from the Sri Lankan bowlers from the very first ball of the day itself, adding 104 runs for the sixth wicket.
Ashwin was dismissed after scoring a well-made 61, but it was Jadeja who took away all the limelight, as he went on to score a spectacular unbeaten 175, before a surprise declaration by captain Rohit Sharma, ending the Indian innings on a mammoth 574/8. The Sri Lankan openers started out in promising fashion, but a few quick wickets towards the end meant that Sri Lanka were staring down the barrel at Stumps on Day 2 of the first Test.
Both sides paid their respects to the Late Shane Warne, who sadly passed away on Friday night, at the age of 52, due to a suspected heart attack. The players wore black armbands as a tribute to the legend. Warne was an unmatched icon, and was perhaps the greatest ever bowler to ever set foot on a cricket field. He took more than 1000 wickets for Australia in his long and illustrious career, and his loss will definitely leave the world of sport a lot poorer.
Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin resumed play after being unbeaten overnight, and built on the ideal platform that had been created by the top-order batsmen on Day 1. The pitch was nearly as good as it was on Day 1, and as a result, the runs came thick and fast for the Indians. Both batsmen reached well-deserved half-centuries, before Ashwin gloved a Lakmal bouncer through to Niroshan Dickwella, ending his excellent stay at the crease, departing after scoring 61. Coming in next, Jayant Yadav emerged as the only Indian batsman not to cross the 20-run barrier, losing his wicket to Vishwa Fernando.
It was at this point that Jadeja turned it up. With just two wickets remaining, Jadeja took it upon himself to try and get as many runs as possible, and did so with tremendous success. Mohammed Shami, who was at the other end, was a mere spectator as Jadeja went absolutely berserk. Jadeja produced a flurry of boundaries, and reached his second Test match century in quick time.
Jadeja kept most of the strike, and made the most of it as well, as India’s score climbed further. Shami did eventually get some of the strike, and also played a few outrageously good strokes. Shami was timing the ball extremely well, something which also highlighted how good of a batting track it was. Jadeja moved on to 150, as India aimed to open up the pitch a bit more before returning to bowl.
Jadeja and Shami carried on, and had added 103 runs for the ninth wicket, of which Shami had scored just 20. Jadeja was unbeaten on 175 and looked destined to score a well-deserved double hundred when skipper Rohit Sharma surprisingly declared the innings mid-over, leaving the all-rounder stranded. It was indeed a strange decision, with adequate time left in the day and in the Test match as well. Nevertheless, the Indian innings ended on 574/8, with Jadeja being the top scorer.
The Sri Lankan openers started off in positive fashion, with the openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne dealing quite decisively with the new ball. Karunaratne looked to be much more confident, as he struck a few boundaries. The duo added 48 runs for the first wicket before modern-day great Ravichandran Ashwin drew first blood for the Indians, trapping Thirimanne in front as he leant in for a defensive stroke.
Captain Karunaratne also departed shortly after, also falling LBW, but to ‘rockstar’ Ravindra Jadeja. Angelo Matthews and Pathum Nissanka added 37 runs for the third wicket, before two quick wickets towards the end of the day’s play rocked the Lankan boat, as play closed with Sri Lanka on 108/4. Sri Lanka are in deep trouble and will need to dig themselves out of a hole on Day 3 if the game is to remain a contest.
