Mohali Test: India declare; Sri Lanka trail by 466 runs
India are in the driving seat in the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. They declared on a mammoth 574/8 in the second session on Day 2. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja entered the record books by scoring an unbeaten 175. In reply, Sri Lanka started well but lost four wickets before stumps. Here is Day 2 report.
How did Day 2 pan out?
India resumed Day 2 on their overnight score of 357/6. Ashwin and Jadeja negotiated the Lankan bowlers in the first session. They put India in the driving seat, extending their partnership. Jadeja registered his second Test ton, while Ashwin completed his half-century. The former returned unbeaten (175*) as India declared on 574/8. Sri Lanka finished on 108/4 at stumps.
Jadeja surpasses Kapil Dev
Jadeja registered his career-best score in Test cricket. He remained unbeaten on 175 off 228 balls (17 fours and 3 sixes). The Indian all-rounder now holds the record for smashing the highest Test score by an Indian batter at number seven or lower. Earlier, the record was held by Kapil Dev (163 vs Sri Lanka in Kanpur, 1986).
Jadeja attains this feat
Jadeja has become the seventh player in Test history with over 200 wickets and a score of 175 or more with the bat. Gary Sobers, Wasim Akram, Jacques Kallis, Shakib Al Hasan, Ian Botham, and Jason Gillespie are the others. In a career spanning nearly a decade, Jadeja has scalped over 230 wickets from 58 Tests at an average of 25.
Virat Kohli receives a Guard of Honor
Ashwin, Jadeja, and Bumrah were among wickets
Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne fared well in the first hour. R Ashwin gave India the first breakthrough by removing Thirimanne in the 19th over. Ravindra Jadeja got rid of Karunaratne after a few overs. Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Angelo Mathews, while Ashwin scalped Dhananjaya de Silva. Ashwin recorded an economy rate of 1.60 in 13 overs.
Ashwin eclipses Richard Hadlee
By dismissing Dhananjaya de Silva, Ashwin surpassed the legendary Richard Hadlee (431) in terms of Test wickets. Ashwin now has 432 wickets in Test cricket at an average of 24.31. He is set to eclipse former Indian captain Kapil Dev on the wickets tally. Earlier in the day, Ashwin slammed her 12th half-century in Test cricket. He scored 61 off 82 balls.
