Mumbai, Dec 2 (IANS) Tillekaratne Dilshan and Angelo Matthews played crucial knocks to put Sri Lanka at a comfortable 366 for eight in the first innings against India after the end of first day’s play in the third and the final cricket Test here Wednesday.
Dilshan (109) struck his sixth Test century of the year and 11th overall while Matthews was batting on 86, his highest Test score, with Muttiah Muralitharan at the other end when the stumps were drawn at the Brabourne Stadium.
Indian fast bowlers failed to get any help from the pitch, which was on the quicker side. And it were the spinners, who did the damage, with off-spinner Harbhajan Singh bagging four for 107 and and left arm-spinner Pragyan Ojha picking up two for 97.
Openers Tharanga Pranavitana (56) and Dilshan gave Sri Lanka a solid start with their 93-run stand as runs flowed briskly in the first session. Sri Lanka lost way in the post lunch session by losing three quick wickets but pulled back things in the last session, which saw 153 runs being scored.
Sri Lankan batsmen got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. They 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 Shantakumaran 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. Dilshan’s 160-ball innings was studded with 10 fours and two sixes.
Harbhajan gave India the first breakthrough by picking up Pranavitana before the lunch break. In the second session Sri Lanka lost three quick wickets — skipper Kumar Sangakkara (18), Mahela Jaywardene (29) and Thilan Samaraweera (1), for 60 runs.
But Dilshan and Mahela did the repair act with a 59-run stand for the third wicket. Things were looking good for Sri Lanka, but disaster struck when Mahela top-edged Sreesanth to give an easy catch to Virender Sehwag at backward square leg before .
Dilshan was unfortunate to be get out bat-pad off Harbhajan and caught by Murali Vijay. TV replays clearly showed that his gloves and bat were long away from the bat, but umpire Nigel Llong thought otherwise.
Matthews and Prasanna Jaywardene (43) took the vistors past the 300-mark with their gritty 67-run partnership.
India lead the series 1-0 and a win here will propel them to the top spot in Test rankings. The historic Brabourne Stadium is hosting the first Test match in 36 years.
