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Ind vs SL: Tons & glory continue

Kohli and Vijay slam centuries again as India pile on misery on SL to end Day One at 371/4

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Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay doing the dab.
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Different venue, different pitch, same heroes, same outcome.

Powered by captain Virat Kohli's sparkling, unbeaten 156 and Murali Vijay's solid 155, India have almost ensured that the trophy for the three-Test series against Sri Lanka will remain at their den.

New Delhi made no difference to the visitors' fortunes as a ruthless Indian side enjoyed yet another run feast, finishing Day One at 371/4 at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday.

This was Kohli's third successive century after 104* in Kolkata and 213 in Nagpur, becoming the first international captain to slam three tons in a three-match Test series. As for Vijay, it was his second consecutive ton too.

 

After Kohli opted to bat on his home ground, the visitors managed to strike twice after a not-so-impressive new ball spell.

Shikhar Dhawan should be cursing himself for playing a sweep shot without any control after scoring 23.

But the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara's dismissal was even more shocking. Knowing well that Lahiru Gamage had strategically placed Sadeera Samarawickrama at leg slip, Pujara glanced a ball from wide of the crease in the same direction to be caught for an identical score as Dhawan.

The wicket, at 78/2, saw the beginning of a long and fruitful 283-run stand between Vijay and Kohli for the third wicket.

Both the batsmen ensured that the run rate motored along at a brisk pace as India scored runs at 4.12 per over.

Vijay has justified the faith shown in him by the team management, who dropped the consistent KL Rahul for this game. Back after a seven-month injury break, the 33-year-old from Tamil Nadu backed up his 128-run knock in Nagpur with yet another classy hundred to all but seal his place for the first Test against South Africa.

Unstoppable Kohli

But the sizeable crowd at Kotla derived more joy from watching their skipper and local boy scoring his first ton on home soil.

First at home, but it was the 29-year-old Delhiite's 20th Test century and third in as many innings in this series. Kohli also became the 11th Indian to complete 5,000 runs on a pitch that behaved as if made to suit Kohli's record-breaking runs.

Kohli became the second fastest Indian to complete 20 centuries, needing 105 innings to do so. Only former India skipper and legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar has reached this milestone faster than him in 93 innings, while Sachin Tendulkar took 107 innings.

 

Kohli smashed the Lankan bowlers all around the ground and took just 110 balls to reach his century.

The innings merely seemed a continuation from where Kohli left off in Nagpur. With 156 already under his belt and four days of play left, Indian cricket's poster boy might well be destined to score his first triple ton in front of his home crowd.

But India's near-perfect day was somewhat ruined towards the end of the day. Desperate to break the Vijay-Kohli partnership, Lakshan Sandakan brought smiles back onto Sri Lanka's faces with two quick strikes.

Vijay's ouster was followed by out-of-form Ajinkya Rahane eight balls later, both being done in by Sandakan googlies and Niroshan Dickwella's smart stumpings.

Kohli vs Smith: Neck and neck

Virat Kohli and Steve Smith on Saturday completed 3,000 runs as Test captains, both achieving the landmark in their 50th innings as skippers. Only Don Bradman (37 innings), Mahela Jayawardene (48) and Graham Gooch (49) have reached the feat in quicker time as captains.

Fastest to 20 Test tons

Player Innings
Don Bradman 55
Sunil Gavaskar 93
Matthew Hayden 95
Steven Smith 99
Virat Kohli 105

N ZONE

11
No. of Indian batsmen to have score more than 5,000 Test runs. Virat Kohli became the fourth fastest Indian to that landmark after Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar

110
No. of balls taken by Kohli to complete his century, his fastest in Test cricket. His previous fastest had also come in this series, with his century in Kolkata coming off 119 balls

DID YOU KNOW?

Virat Kohli is the first international captain to have scored three consecutive hundreds in a three-match Test series

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