India on top after supreme Jadeja-led all-round show

Allrounder slams 175* to set up declaration, and then joins the wicket-takers’ party to push Sri Lanka on the back foot

Sri Lanka 108 for 4 (Ashwin 2-21) trail India 574 for 8 dec (Jadeja 175*, Pant 96, Ashwin 61, Vihari 58, Lakmal 2-90, Fernando 2-135, Embuldeniya 2-188) by 466 runs

India’s bowlers brought all their quality to bear on a pitch just beginning to offer turn and variable bounce to bag a fifth of the wickets they need to win the Mohali Test, after Ravindra Jadeja made the highest score by an Indian No. 7 to help them post a formidable first-innings total.

Jadeja and R Ashwin would make a serious impact with the ball in the final session of the day, picking up three of the four Sri Lankan wickets to fall. Well before that, though, they put on a smooth, untroubled century stand to snuff out any hope Sri Lanka may have had when day two began with India 357 for 6. Jadeja then added an unbroken 103 with Mohammed Shami for the ninth wicket, their runs coming at more than a run a ball against a flagging attack and a ragged pack of fielders, before India declared.

Rohit Sharma called his batters in with Jadeja 25 runs from a double-hundred; while he didn’t get a chance to add that feat to his two first-class triples, the timing of the declaration gave India a full, extended session to bowl at Sri Lanka. They squeezed 43 overs of pace, spin and testing gameplans into that time, and at stumps, Sri Lanka were four down and a massive 466 runs adrift of India’s first-innings total.

More to follow…

Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.

India on top after supreme Jadeja-led all-round show

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