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Colombo, august 28
India lost in-form batsmen KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane on a green-top before heavy rain forced the umpires to call off the play on the first day of the third and final Test between India and Sri Lanka here today. India were 50 for 2 in 15 overs with Cheteshwar Pujara (19) and skipper Virat Kohli (15) at the crease when it started pouring.
The Sri Lankan pacers made an immediate impact after inviting the visitors to bat on a recently laid grassy pitch as they got rid of Rahul (2) on the second ball of the day. Dhammika Prasad (1/16) bowled an in-swinger that beat the defence of the young opener and crashed into the stumps. When Rahul and Pujara came out to bat, they were India’s fifth different opening combination in the last six Tests.
Rahane (8) started off with a couple of crispy drives down the ground but did not last long as he was caught plumb in front by Nuwan Pradeep. With both the centurions from the second Test back in the pavilion, India were struggling at 14/2 when Kohli walked in. The India captain was lucky to be still batting when the rain-break came. In the eighth over, he was dropped off Pradeep by Kusal Perera, who is keeping instead of Dinesh Chandimal.
Batsmen ready to bat anywhere: Bangar
Later, India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar lauded his batsmen for adapting to the team’s requirements by coming out to bat at any position they are asked to. “All batsmen are willing to bat at any position, which is a big plus for the team,” said Bangar. “They are willing to take up the challenge and come out of their comfort zones.” The Indian team management had reshuffled the batting order in the second Test, sending Ajinkya Rahane at No. 3 and Rohit Sharma at No. 5. Rahane had responded with a century, while Rohit also chipped in with crucial runs.
Talking about his work with different batsmen at different positions, Bangar said, “Rahane is accustomed to batting at No. 4 or 5 in Tests. At this position, with the ball generally older than 25 overs, one tends to play on the up and the stride shortens a bit. We worked on getting a good stride for him so that he has a stable base and plays the ball as late as possible and close to the body. That worked for him in the second innings of the last Test,” he said.
On Pujara opening the innings, the coach said: “We work on specific areas with specific batsmen. With Pujara, we want him to get to the pitch of the ball as much as possible, to use the depth of the crease to the deliveries that are not pitched up.”
Rahul, the young opener, was cleaned up by an in-swinger. That’s a little worrisome for he has been dismissed in similar fashion earlier as well. “He’s been playing in the domestic circuit for a while now. There the ball doesn’t do much after pitching; the Kookaburra ball, on the other hand, does a lot. It is something that Rahul is getting used to. We are working on this particular aspect of his batting. I think we will be able to sort it out very quickly,” said Bangar.
With the first day nearly washed out, Bangar said it was too early to think about the result. “I think it’s too premature to think about the result. We have hardly had one full session. It is still evenly balanced if we manage to get over the initial hiccups. This is going to be a really tight Test match,” said Bangar. — PTI
Scoreboard
India 1st innings
KL Rahul b Prasad 2
C Pujara batting 19
A Rahane lbw b Pradeep 8
V Kohli batting 14
Extras (WD-1, NB-1, pen 5) 7
Total (2 wickets in 15 ov) 50
FOW: 1-2, 2-14
Bowling
D Prasad 4-0-16-1
N Pradeep 6-0-16-1
A Mathews 4-2-7-0
R Herath 1-0-6-0
3
4