The pitch eased out as the winter sunlight turned crisper. The batsmen gained in confidence and started producing the kind of shots expected to be seen on a strip conducive for stroke-play, and then some more. The gush of runs that was to follow from the blades of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir soon turned out to be an embarrassment for the spin-inclined Sri Lankan bowling attack and enabled India to finish the opening day of the second Test at the Green Park Stadium as the most fruitful in terms of runs.
India reached 417 for 2, the 233-run stand up the order remaining the highlight after MS Dhoni won a toss that looked set to change the course of the series following a forgettable opening match at Ahmedabad for the home side.
Sehwag, who had also helped India register their previous most in a single day of Test cricket (386-1) against South Africa on way to a triple-century in Chennai last year, started in uncharacteristic fashion scoring just 14 runs in the first hour, but the complexion of the proceedings was to change soon after that.
The change in approach of the batsmen was visible in the way they started the first two sessions. If they were cautious in the opening session, they were keen to get things going in the second as Gambhir walked down the pitch off the very first ball after lunch to hammer Chanaka Welegedara down the leg side for a four. Thirteen runs came in that over and as many of the subsequent one from Muttiah Muralitharan as the two batsmen played shots all over the ground, not bothering which way the ball was being turned.
If there was any costly miss for Sri Lanka, it was Sehwag’s catch in the first over when he had yet to score a run.
What seemed an easy chance to Mahela at first slip was messed up by the other Jayawardene, Prasanna, stretching too wide and spilling it.
The Sri Lankans were sent on a leather hunt, spinners Rangana Herath and Ajantha
Mendis being welcomed into the attack with some lusty shots and Muralitharan forced to banish any ideas of imparting flight to the ball early on.
Sehwag and Gambhir reached their fifties almost together, but Sehwag had surged well ahead by the time he was out on 131 after hitting two sixes off Mendis apart from 18 fours.
Three of them were consecutive ones off Murali, including a lucky inside-edged one to deep fine leg, after reaching his century off 97 balls.
Sehwag then stole two fours against the turn off Herath on the leg side with six men
manning the other half of the ground, but perished at short cover when he also tried to play Murali against the turn.
Gambhir was cautious in his 90s after Sehwag’s dismissal but duly completed a fourth consecutive century in Tests, his 167 coming off 215 deliveries and with 15 fours. He too was picked by Murali, caught and bowled, failing to hold down a drive, even as Rahul Dravid settled at the other end to show glimpses of his solidity.
It will be interesting to see how much the slow bowlers will help Sri Lanka as they went in with three spinners and will be bowling in the third innings of the match. On the other hand, India went in with the same balance though they brought in Sreesanth for Ishant Sharma and Pragyan Ojha for Amit Mishra.
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