Mumbai, Dec 2 (Inditop.com) Sri Lankan batsmen faltered against India at tea after a solid start by the openers on the first day of the third and the final cricket Test at the Brabourne Stadium here Wednesday.
Sri Lanka were 213 for four in the first innings with Tillakaratne Dilshan batting on 99 and Angelo Matthews eight. Opening batsman Tharanga Pranavitana hit 53.
Indian fast bowlers bowled a flat line and didn’t get any help from the pitch, which was on the quicker side. It were the spinners, who did the damage, with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bagging two and left arm-spinners Pragyan Ojha and fast bowler Shantakumaran Sreesanth getting one each.
Pranavitana and Dilshan dominated the first session with a 93-run stand as Sri Lanka scored at more than four runs per over and 117 runs came off in 27 overs.
But Sri Lanka lost way in the second session losing three quick wickets — skipper Kumar Sangakkara (18), Mahela Jaywardene (29) and Thilan Samaraweera (1), for 60 runs.
The Sri Lankan batsmen had to blame themselves for their poor shot selection that cost them their wickets.
Pranavitana started the proceedings by driving fast bowler Zaheer Khan for a four in the first ball of the innings. He played well for his brief stay and cashed in on the loose deliveries hitting seven fours during his 81-ball stay.
At the other end, Dilshan was in an aggressive mode and was severe on S. Sreesanth, the Man of the Match in the last Test in Kanpur.
Sreesanth tried to rattle Dilshan with a bouncer, but the Sri Lankan hooked it for a six. Dilshan again pulled the next delivery for a four and hit the last ball through mid-wicket for another four, forcing captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take out Sreesanth from the attack and introduce spin.
Harbhajan gave India the first breakthrough by picking up Pranavitana. Dilshan and Sangakkara then played cautiously to see through the first session of the game safely.
Soon after the lunch break, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha got rid of Sangakkara, caught behind by Dhoni.
Dilshan and Jayawardene started the repair act with a 59-run stand for the third wicket. Things were looking good for Sri Lanka when Jayawardene top-edged Sreesanth to give an easy catch to Virender Sehwag at backward square leg.
India lead the series 1-0 and a win here will propel them to the top spot in Test rankings. The historic Brabourne is hosting the first Test match in 36 years.
