India dominate opening day of second Test vs Sri Lanka

India lost opener Lokesh Rahul to end the opening day of the second cricket Test at 11/1 after bowling out Sri Lanka for 205 in the final session at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium here on Friday.

Opener Murali Vijay (2 not out) and No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara (2 not out) were at the crease when the umpires dislodged the bails for the day.

For the visitors, paceman Lahiru Gamage picked up the solitary wicket of Rahul, who got an inside edge back onto his stumps after trying to flirt with a delivery outside the off-stump.

Rahul started the Indian response on a positive note, getting off the mark with a boundary through mid-off before going into a shell, which saw him consume 13 deliveries for his brief knock.

Earlier, Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja wreaked havoc, sharing seven wickets to bowl out Sri Lanka for 205 in their first innings.

Ashwin, who went wicketless in the first two sessions, broke the backbone of the Lankan innings by removing skipper Dinesh Chandimal, who top-scored with a patient 122-ball 57 before adding three more wickets to return with figures of 4/67.

Left-arm spinner Jadeja complemented the off-spinner well, finishing with 3/56 while veteran paceman Ishant Sharma also picked up three wickets giving away 37 runs in his 14 overs.

Resuming the final session at 151/4, the tourists found the going tough and lost wickets at regular intervals with their last six wickets falling for just 54 runs.

Besides Chandimal, opener Dimukh Karunaratne (51 from 147; 6x4) and stumper Niroshan Dickwella (24 from 30; 4x4) were the only other batsmen who managed to provide some resistance to the Indian spin duo.

The series is currently squared at 0-0 after the drawn opening Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 205 (Dinesh Chandimal 57, Dimukh Karunaratne 51, Niroshan Dickwella 24; Ravichandran Ashwin 4/67, Ravindra Jadeja 3/56, Ishant Sharma 3/37) vs India 11/1 (Lokesh Rahul 7, Murali Vijay 2 not out, Cheteshwar Pujara 2 not out; Lahiru Gamage 1/4).

--IANS

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