Blistering centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteswar Pujara powered India to a commanding 344 the loss of 3 wickets at the end of Day 1 of the second test.
In addition to all the runs, a contest came India’s way boosting the morale of an already high flying Indian outfit. The conditions - nowhere near drastic, but certainly challenging - fostered high-quality cricket.
The scoring rate was a healthy 3.8 per over, but the outside and inside edges of the Indian batsmen bore more red marks than they had done in Galle. Only one of them proved fatal, though - the captain Virat Kohli was caught splendidly by Angelo Mathews at slip for 13 off Rangana Herath. The rest were smuggled wide of the fielders skillfully and carefully. And with time, they disappeared completely.
India will begin Day 2 hoping to consolidate their strong position and seal the 3 match series convincingly.
