Delhi: It was indeed a day of drama at the Feroz Shah Kotla as India maintained their strong grip over Sri Lanka in the third and final Test match on Sunday.
The day began with skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma continuing to dominate with the bat. While Rohit Sharma scored 65, Kohli once again made his presence felt at the crease as he scored his second consecutive double hundred and sixth overall to break a few records. He now has the most double hundreds by an Indian (6), equalling the great Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. The 29-year-old now has the most number of double hundreds (6) as a skipper, surpassing West Indian great Brian Lara, who had five.
He also became the sixth player overall and only the second Indian to score double tons in consecutive innings. It was indeed a magnificent homecoming for the skipper, who now has registered his highest score in Test cricket-243, which is the highest by an Indian captain in the format.
(Image credit-India TV)
However the drama began when the Lankans walked out with masks after lunch to protect themselves from the smog. Play was stopped for 16 minutes after which both Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin fell. The Indian skipper finally called for an abrupt declaration with India at 536/7.
But the tough times continued for the Lankans as the Mohammad Shami sent back Dimuth Karunaratne for a golden duck in the very first ball. Ishant Sharma too got into the act, dismissing Dhananjaya De Silva who walked in to bat at number three.
However, India’s poor fielding skills in the slips marred the day as they could have easily had four to five wickets. Shikhar Dhawan first dropped Dilruwan Perera (42) in the seventh over of Shami’s bowling while Angelo Mathews dropped by Kohli shortly afterwards.
Ending the day at 131/3 with skipper Dinesh Chandimal (25 n.o) and the experienced Mathews (57 n.o) at the crease, Sri Lanka would hope for an inspired performance by the duo if they have any chance of going past India’s massive first innings total.
Brief scores-
Sri Lanka 131/3 (Angelo Mathews 57 n.o, Dilruwan Perera 42; Ravindra Jadeja 1/24) trail India 536/7 decl. (Virat Kohli 243, Murali Vijay 155, Lakshan Sandakan 4/167) by 405 runs