India made up for all the time lost to rain on the first two days by bowling Sri Lanka out for 211 in just over two sessions. As Ishant Sharma turned around an inauspicious no-ball-filled start with a rare five-for, India might even have entertained thoughts of enforcing a follow-on after scoring just 312, but the last four wickets added 154 to frustrate them in a Test where rain might not have had its final say after all.

 

India's two familiar foes turned up: a dropped slip catch and stubborn late partnerships. Debutant Kusal Perera and Rangana Herath took the follow-on decision out of India's hands by combining for the third-highest seventh-wicket partnership with the team's score under 50. Still, with a lead of 111 and little under six sessions to go, India were fancying giving themselves enough time to hunt the second-innings wickets down. That Perera and Herath batted without alarm showed the pitch was not demonic. India merely put the ball in areas where uncertain batsmen edge it, and Sri Lanka's batsmen were no doubt uncertain.

 

The top-order collapse occurred soon after Cheteshwar Pujara carried his bat through India's innings. Making a comeback and batting out of position, he scored 145 out of India's total. Quite a few Sri Lanka batsmen were out of positions they were used to when Kumar Sangakkara was around.

 

In the first Test since Sangakkara's retirement, Upul Tharanga came out to open on comeback, Dimuth Karunaratane moved down, Dinesh Chandimal moved up, Perera batted at No. 7. This raw batting line-up could have done with some luck; they didn't have any when it came to the umpiring. Tharanga was given out off a no-ball even though the TV umpire was asked to rule it out, Chandimal - counterattacking his way to 23 off 27 - was given out lbw to a ball that hit him bail high and was on its way up, and Tharindu Kaushal was given out lbw off an inside edge.

 

Ishant played with the crease in the first part of his day. Resuming his innings with Pujara, he jumped out of the crease and missed. He jumped out again, and edged past gully. The next time he did so, Herath bowled him. He might have been hitting out under team instructions, but more importantly, Ishant failed to stay in the crease with the first two balls he bowled. It looked like one of those bad days when everything goes against you when he produced Tharanga's edge in the first over, but saw KL Rahul drop it diving in front of first slip. Rahul and slips would go on to gain more and telling mentions.

 

Redemption nearly did not come for Ishant and Rahul. Tharanga, prone to offering these opportunities outside off, did so soon enough, and Rahul took a good low catch, but Ishant was asked to wait before he celebrated. Replays didn't show any part of his foot behind the line, but mysteriously Tharanga was asked to keep walking.

 

Umesh Yadav, the more impressive of the two seamers at that time, troubled Kaushal Silva with the short ball again. This time Silva got behind the line and while he was withdrawing the bat to leave it alone, the ball took the bottom edge onto the stumps. Chandimal attacked attractively, but he fell to Binny, who on the second day had fallen to an outswinger that pitched and seamed back in to hit him on the back thigh. Binny repeated the dose to Chandimal, but replays showed the ball was likely to sail over the stumps.

 

Ishant came back to deal Sri Lanka telling blows either side of the lunch break. With his first ball back, he had Angelo Mathews poking at one that held its line outside off. With his second ball after the break, Ishant asked a similar question of Lahiru Thirimanne, and the batsman responded with another edge. In between the two dismissals, Karunaratne played a loose drive to a wide half-volley from Binny.

 

Having taken both those catches, Rahul - like Ishant - was on his way to turning his day around. But with Perera at 9 and Sri Lanka 63 for 6 and Dhammika Prasad retired hurt, Rahul dropped a simple offering off the bowling of Yadav. With Sanath Jayasuriya watching, the man he resembles at the wicket, Perera went on to launch a calculated assault. In Herath, Perera found a determined ally. This was also the period when the bowlers began to tire a little. Perera hit nine fours in his 56-ball 55, Herath was more sedate, but the two added 79 to frustrate India.

 

Just when things were getting out of hand for India, with Ishant and Herath getting involved in an eye-to-eye confrontation, the ball lost its shape. The replaced ball did not do much for Ishant, but Perera finally top-edged that Jayasuriya-like cow-corner pull that he plays. There was resistance from Kaushal, but after benefitting from dodgy lbws in the first innings of the first Test, he was at the receiving end of a howler this time.

 

One short of what could have been his second test fifty, Herath was snapped by Ishant just after tea with a ball just outside off and holding its line. Still, when Prasad began to run away from the stumps, India lost their lines and lengths and let him score 27 off 23.

(espncricinfo)