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| Chaminda Vaas celebrates after taking a wicket in Galle on Thursday. (AP) |
Galle: Virender Sehwag blasted a quick-fire unbeaten 128 as India squandered a flying start with a dramatic collapse, which saw the visitors losing four wickets in the span of 20 balls on a rain-truncated opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
The flamboyant Sehwag notched up his 15th Test century. Even magical Muralidharan was rendered ordinary as Sehwag scored boundaries off the spinner quite freely.
However, the complexion of the game changed abruptly after play resumed following a rain interruption as pacer Chaminda Vaas and ‘mystery’ spinner Ajantha Mendis ripped through the top order to help the islanders, who exploited the overcast conditions well, claw back brilliantly.
While Sehwag played with characteristic flair, the quick dismissals of opener Gautam Gambhir (56) started the slide, while Rahul Dravid (2) fell prey to Mendis, Sachin Tendulkar (5) and Sourav Ganguly’s (0) dismissals furher compounded India’s misery and dented hopes of posting a big first-innings total on what appeared to be a good batting strip at the Galle International Stadium.
The stylish V.V.S Laxman (13) was giving Sehwag company at stumps on a day which saw only 44.3 overs being bowled.
India were 214 for four when play was called off early due to bad light.
The visitors, who desperately need to win the match to keep themselves afloat in the three-match series, have to now bank on the pair of Sehwag and Laxman to put up a decent total on the board.
The Indians showed signs of making amends for their Colombo debacle in the pre-lunch session as Sehwag and Gambhir plundered runs at will to score 151. Play was held up after the lunch break because of rain and when it began again, the balance tilted in favour of the home team, who exploited the overcast conditions well.
The dismissal of Gambhir started the slide as the Delhi batsman was trapped leg before by Mendis. Gambhir asked for a review, but it did not change his luck as the television umpire upheld the on-field umpire’s decision.
Rahul Dravid, who has been struggling to find his form, again fell prey to Mendis as he failed to keep the ball on the ground and Malinda Warnapura took the catch at short leg, much to the delight of his teammates.
The hosts then scalped the prized wicket of Tendulkar, who was trapped leg before by Vaas. Sourav Ganguly did not trouble the scorers as he edged an away swinger from Vaas to Prasanna Jayawardene behind the wicket to reduce India to a precarious 178 for four.
Sehwag and Laxman ensured that there were no further setbacks for the tourists as the duo took the team beyond the 200-run mark.
It was a stunning exhibition of strokeplay by Sehwag, who unleashed 19 boundaries and two sixes and seemed to be unaffected by wickets tumbling around him.
(PTI)
REFERRALS
Day I of the second Test saw three referrals being made to the third umpire. The referrals were:
Sri Lanka challenged a caught behind decision by Rudi Koertzen, off Ajantha Mendis, which went in favour of Virender Sehwag (10.2 overs). TV umpire Mark Benson upheld the on-field umpire’s decision.
Gautam Gambhir asked for review of an lbw decision by Billy Doctrove, off Mendis (31.5 overs). Benson upheld the on-field umpire’s decision.
Sri Lanka challenged an lbw decision by Koertzen, off Chaminda Vaas, which went in favour of VVS Laxman (38.5 ovs). Benson upheld the on-field umpire’s decision.
Sehwag’s hundreds
Virender Sehwag hit his 15th Test century on Thursday. The following is the full list:
105 vs South Africa, Bloemfontein, 2001-02
106 vs England, Trent Bridge, 2002
147 vs WI, Wankhede, 2002-03
130 vs NZ, Mohali, 2003-04
195 vs Australia, Melbourne, 2003-04
309 vs Pakistan, Multan, 2003-04
155 vs Australia, Chepauk, 2004-05
164 vs SA, Kanpur, 2004-05
173 vs Pakistan, Mohali, 2004-05
201 vs Pakistan, Bangalore, 2004-05
254 vs Pakistan, Lahore (Gaddafi), 2005-06
180 vs WI, Gros Islet, 2006
151 vs Australia, Adelaide, 2007-08
319 vs SA, Chepauk, 2007-08
128 batting vs Sri Lanka, Galle, 2008
