India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test Live Commentary & Updates

August 3, 2017 Dwayne Fernandes Cricket Scoops, Sports Scoops 0

Would’ve been a satisfying day of play for India. Put up a record total of 622/9 declared and then would’ve targetted a few early wickets, which they achieved. Join us tomorrow where the visitors will be looking for a few more wickets and wrapping up the Sri Lankan innings within the day’s play. Do leave your comments!

Day’s highlights:

20 overs – Sri Lanka 50/2. Chandimal 8*, Mendis 16*. And it’s STUMPS! Sri Lanka lost two early and a lot of their hopes will rest on these two out in the center. Mendis is clearly the most talented batsman in the team, while Chandimal seems to be determined, opening his account with a mighty six on the leg side. However, there will be a lot of scorecard pressure as the hosts are still trailing by an overwhelming 572 runs.

18 overs – Sri Lanka 40/2. Chandimal 7*, Mendis 8*. Ashwin bowls a maiden – his second today. 2 overs left today.

OUT. Ashwin gets another left hander. Sri Lanka 33/2. Ashwin kept beating the bat of Karunaratne and he finally gets his man as the batsman edged it to first slip and Rahane has the safest hands in the team. Karunaratne goes for 25(45).

India REVIEW. No bat involved. Ball tracker. Poor, poor review here by India. Missing and missing the stumps by a long way. Saha was the culprit here as he seemed confident. Waste of a review, in just the 11th over. Sri Lanka 25/1 after 11 overs.

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

Kolhi has made the right move by beginning with Ashwin

4.3 – Pushed down the ground and Karunaratne scores the first boundary of the Sri Lankan reply. Sri Lanka 8/1.

Not the start Sri Lanka wanted, knowing that they have a mountain to climb. Dimuth Karunaratne on 2* and Kusal Mendis also on 2* should now aim at taking their country into stumps without losing another wicket.

India then opened the bowling with Shami and Ashwin, giving Sri Lanka to bat around 20 overs before stumps today. They started with a couple of maidens an a wicket as well. Ashwin bowled a bad ball to Upul Tharanga who flicked it to the leg side but KL Rahul held on at short leg. OUT. Sri Lanka begin badly – 0/1.

India posted 622/9 and declared after batting a solid 158 overs. Another good innings from Jadeja and he would’ve been disappointed when Virat called them back up. However, India passed quite a few records on their way to 622, including their first innings from 2007 where six batsmen crossed scores of 50.

Well, it didn’t go too far as both the centurions failed to add much on to their overnight scores. However, the tail had a lot of fun:

  • Saha – 67
  • Jadeja – 70*
  • Ashwin – 54
  • Shami – 19(8) including two big sixes

DAY 2

How far will this marathon partnership go on Day 2?

The day was all India’s, with no wickets falling in the final session. 344/3 at the end of Day 1 means Sri Lanka will have to do very well tomorrow to restrict India to another 550+ score. Remember, India still have Saha, Ashwin, Jadeja and Pandya to bat.

106 runs in the final session means India scored 100+ in all three sessions, and the partnership betweent hese two currently stands at 211*. How far can they stick around on Day 2?

Nuwan Pradeep was Sri Lanka’s only new ball bowler and he walked off clutching his hamstring. Will he come back tomorrow? Join us here at Read Scoops for a similar live coverage of the full of Day 2 right here!

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

90 overs – India 344/3. Rahane 103*, Pujara 128*. And that’s it. STUMPS!

Just a single in the 88th over.

Rahane given OUT! He reviews immediately, there’s a big inside edge and umpire Bruce Oxenford will have to reverse his decision. Rahane survives for the third time in a successful review. NOT OUT. Sri Lanka’s happiness was short-lived.

87th over is a maiden. First maiden over since the 39th over. Almost 50 overs. Hmm.

With all the talks about Kohli’s and Pujara’s test averages of 50+, many of us may have forgotten that Rahane has a career test average of 48+ at the moment. What a good servant of Indian cricket. These two should both push on tomorrow morning and take India over 500!

86 overs – India 339/3. Rahane 100*, Pujara 126*. Always great to watch Rahane reach hundred. While most players accumulate runs at home, Rahane has scored 6 of his centuries in foreign conditions and he keeps proving why this Indian side needs him.

A single brings up Ajinkya Rahane’s 9th Test Hundred. Simple man. Simple celebration. Marvellous innings.

200 runs of the partnership between these two comes up. Magnificent effort by them. Last ball of the over and the crowd gets excited as Rahane runs three. However, they are given as BYES. Rahane’s wife pictured in the stands once again and she looks to be more nervous than he is.

84 overs – India 332/3. Rahane 98*, Pujara 124*. Pujara negotiates the last three balls of the over and lets Rahane keep strike for the next over.

A boundary and a single in the 83rd over gets Rahane to 96*. How much longer now?

81 overs – India 321/3. Rahane 89*, Pujara 122*. Both batsmen will be looking to go into stumps with 100+ scores and will want to press on to score big tomorrow morning.

Sri Lanka’s troubles continue. They had just ONE new ball bowlers in Pradeep and he walks off the field with a hamstring issue, just 4 balls into the 81st over. India should be able to negotiate the next 10 overs until stumps with ease with Pradeep off. 

Sri Lanka take the new ball as soon as it’s available. Nuwan Pradeep is brought into the attack!

79.3 – Loud appeal for LBW and Sri Lanka have decided to review the original NOT OUT decision. Rahane swept the ball and missed it, hits him on his side and Sri Lanka review. Rahane survives again as the decision stays. NOT OUT. Pitching outside off stump. However, Sri Lanka will get back their review after this over.

79.2 – Herath was brought into the attack before the new ball is taken and his bad day continues. Rahane hits him for FOUR. Excellent shot.

5 singles come off the 79th over as well, as Sri Lanka have no clue how to bowl to these two. 311/3.

Can Rahane get to his hundred today as well?

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

78 overs – India 306/3. Rahane 81*, Pujara 116*. 5 singles off that over. 5th ball of that over was a return catch and the debutant has dropped that.

All of Dhawan, Kohli & Rahul would’ve been disappointed to have missed out on this good batting track. Dhawan looked good until he swept the wrong ball, Kohli looked very good until he was caught brilliantly and Rahul was involved in a horrible run out.

300 up for India.

Gavaskar says on air that Malinda Pushpakumara now knows the difference between first class cricket and international cricket. 

75.2 – Hate to say this but Pushpakumara has been disappointing on his debut, giving away runs at almost 5 runs an over. Slightly short and Pujara hangs back and slashes it for FOUR. His 10th boundary of this innings. India 299/3.

Drinks have been taken with India at 292/3 after 74 overs. One hour of play to go (possibly more) and 6 overs until the new ball can be taken.

72. 3 – Rahane seems to have shifted gears now. Shimmies down the pitch and lofts the ball over mid off for FOUR. India 288/3.

For those who didn’t know:

72 overs – India 284/3. Rahane 66*, Pujara 109*. Chandimal has been enforcing a lot of field and bowling changes but nothing seems to be working. the 150 of the partnership comes up as well. Not looking good for Sri Lanka.

70 overs – India 277/3. Rahane 62*, Pujara 106*. The final ball of that over was slapped off the backfoot by Rahane for FOUR. India motoring along. Strong favourites at the moment.

69 overs – India 272/3. Rahane 58*, Pujara 105*.

He follows it up with a backfoot shot and FOUR off the last ball of the over. 270/3 after 68 overs!

Twitter congratulates Pujara:

67.4 – Called for two and that will be it. HUNDRED for Pujara – his 13th in test cricket, second consecutive century and third consecutive ton against Sri Lanka. Also, his 6th ton in his last 13 games. How good is he in test cricket? The intent has been good so far.

Pujara on 98* now.

67 overs – India 262/3. Rahane 57*, Pujara 96*. Pujara approaching hundred means that India have only scored 24 runs in 9 overs this session so far. Slow, compared to earlier sessions of the day.

Pujara eager to get the strike. He seems to have slowed down quite a bit ever since entering the nineties. Indian fans want him to get past 100 and bring that flow of runs back again.

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

65 overs – India 259/3. Rahane 55*, Pujara 95*. Half volley from Nuwan Pradeep off the 4th ball of the over and Rahane eases into the drive for FOUR. He then follows it up with a single. Good cricket.

That’s FIFTY for Ajinkya Rahane – his 13th in test cricket, to go along with 8 test centuries. His wife applauds from the stadium and so do millions of Indian fans around the world. How long before Pujara gets to 100 now?

Good start by Sri Lanka. Just 5 runs off the first 4 overs after TEA. Can they keep the pressure and pick up a wicket?

Just a couple of runs from the Pushpakumara over. And just a single off the next Dilruwan Perera over. India 242/3 after 61 overs.

Malinda Pushpakumara introduced early in the session..

59 overs – India 239/3. Pujara 90*, Rahane 41*.

Pujara in the nineties. Expect to race through it. He’s got a lot of experience batting at these scores. Remember, he got a hundred in the last game too!

Important question here:

The batsmen are out there and we are ready for the final session of the day. How much more can India pile on?

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

Can Sri Lanka claw their way back in the final session? Leave your comments!

14:45 IST: A good session for India. they lost Rahul and Kohli early in the session and Sri Lanka were up on top until this counter-attacking partnership between Rahane and Pujara that has put India back in the driver’s seat. A total of 137 runs came in that session and it looks like India can post 350+ on this first day and go back to their hotel rooms happy. Join us back for the final session in 15 minutes….

58 overs – India 238/3. Pujara 89*, Rahane 41*. A wonderful 105* runs partnership between these two as umpire Bruce Oxenford calls for TEA.

57.3 – Close one. Loud appeal off the third ball of the Nuwan Pradeep over. Given NOT OUT. Reviewed!

Impact was outside the off stump while the batsman was playing a shot. The original decision will stay and Rahane survives. NOT OUT!

Another Pujara record equalled:

57 overs – India 235/3. Rahane 39*, Pujara 88*.

14:35 IST: These two milking singles and doubles and 100 of the partnership comes up between Rahane and Pujara. another great session for India and still 5 minutes to go until tea. It took these two just 104 balls to get to the milestone and if Sri Lanka don’t get a breakthrough soon, it could spell trouble for them.

54 overs – India 225/3. Rahane 35*, Pujara 83*. Herath was brought back into the attack but it’s sad to see that he hasn’t been very effective today. So far, atleast. Pujara hit him for a FOUR on the second ball of the over, followed by another FOUR on the last ball. Sri Lankans tiring very early in the day here.

India could press on and score 350+ today.

52 overs – India 207/3.  Rahane 32*, Pujara 68*. This partnership is flowing at the moment – 74(79). There were black clouds around the ground but they seemed to have cleared off pretty quickly so play shouldn’t really be affected. Not soon atleast. 25 minutes to tea now.

Dark, dark clouds…

200 up for India!

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

Another FOUR for Pujara. The run rate has crept up to 3.9 and this partnership is going at almost a run-a-ball.

49 overs – India 191/3. Rahane 23*, Pujara 61*. Pujara shows that he can hit the big shots as well as he smashed that short ball over the mid wicket boundary. Debutant Pushpakumara wouldn’t like that at all.

Like we said earlier, Pujara seems determined to go ahead and score big. FIFTY. Over 1,500 runs in his last 15 games and he has been a great servant of Indian test cricket over the years. What a player!

46.6 – Another boundary for Rahane and he is striking at 90+ at the moment. FOUR.

46 overs – India 170/3. Rahane 17*, Pujara 46*. Rahane seems to be enjoying himself out there.

Drinks are out in the center. Got to say this hour was Sri Lanka’s

44 overs – India 159/3. Rahane 7*, Pujara 45*.

43 overs – India 153/3. Rahane 6*, Pujara 41*

Pujara getting a move on here. Two boundaries in an equal number of overs – one off Dilruwan and the next off Puhpakumara. Hope he keeps going as India need to put up another 400+ score if they want success in this test as well.

These fans:

41 overs – India 139/3. Rahane 4, Pujara 29*.

Herath has found his rhythm and he got the big fish, Kohli. Fantastic catch from Mathews at slip. He clings on as the Indian captain departs. Virat Kohli dismissed by Rangana Herath – 13(29).

About that KL Rahul innings – he becomes only the third batsman to achieve that feat after Rahul Dravid and Gundappa Vishwanath.

Read Scoops KL Rahul

Indian Cricket – The History Press Ltd from Amazon.in

37 overs – Finally a quiet over for Sri Lanka. Maiden for Rangana Herath.

Kohli ruins that good over from Herath by jabbing at the final delivery and getting another FOUR.

35.3 – A couple of short balls followed by a ball pitched up and Kohli was waiting for it. FOUR! Got on the front foot and drove it through the empty long off region for his first boundary today.

34 overs – India 119/2. Kohli 3*, Pujara 23*.

Virat Kohli seems nice and determined to go in and make a big score here. Pujara playing in his 50th test so he will be eager to put up a big score as well. If these two play out the next few overs (since Sri Lanka have their tail up), this may turn into a big partnership. Centuries for both?

We may be in for an interesting next 30 minutes of play.

STAT – Since 2010, Pujara has been involved in 7 run outs.

32 overs – India 114/2. Kohli 3*, Pujara 19*.

What that does, however, is brings Indian captain Virat Kohli out to the center. Huge cheers as he walks out, even in Sri Lanka. One of the few in world cricket to average 50+ in all formats of the game. What does he have for us today?

30.4 – KL Rahul drives, calls for a single, Pujara responds and then suddenly sends Rahul back. RUN OUT!

Rahul isn’t happy. I was just typing out to say how well Rahul has done since morning. After being hospitalized last week in Colombo, he came out and proved his selection today with a quick fifty and was looking fluent. Pujara literally sold his partner there and Rahul wasn’t happy at all. Ravi Shastri looks on and he’s not impressed either. KL Rahul run out by Chandimal – 57(82).

Session 2 begins

India 101/1

after 28 overs – Rahul 53*, Pujara 14*.

Yes, we knew that KL Rahul would have the edge over Abhinav Mukund for the 2nd test. Kohli came out, won the toss, elected to bat and mentioned their one and only change – Rahul coming in for Mukund. For Sri Lanka, Dhananjaya, Chandimal and Pushpakumara came in.

The 1st test saw a lot of attacking cricket from India and the first sessions on Day 1 was no different as India amassed 101/1 by Lunch on Day 1. Surprisingly, it was Rangana Herath who was the most expensive bowler in that session but he is a warrior and will be back once he finds his rhythm.

Shikhar Dhawan got off to another flying start but sadly was dismissed by Dilruwan Perera, for 35(37). Dilruwan bowled the solitary maiden in that first over and all eyes will be on the Sri Lankan spinners to give them the advantage in the 2nd session as well as in this test match and series as a whole.

We at Read Scoops will be covering the entire game (all five days) and this includes live commentary, highlights, updates, scores and the best tweets from during the game. Keep watching this space and don’t forget to leave your comments as well.

About Dwayne Fernandes 2315 Articles
Indian, 28 years old. Avid cricket fan. Business Management Graduate. Twitter and Instagram - @dwayneeeboy