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Dhawan departed at the stroke of Tea on 190 and Virat Kohli followed him but the pair of Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane consolidated India's position at the top. Both played themselves in without offering any chance as they wore down an undisciplined bowling attack. Pujara has once again be the difference for India as he ensured they did not lose sight of the job on hand. The visitors will aim to bat the hosts out of the game tomorrow if possible. Let's see if they can do that. The home side has plenty to think about. Join us for all the action on Day 2 tomorrow at 1000 local time. Until then, goodbye and take care!

A brilliant day of Test cricket for India! They won a vital toss and have made sure they drive home the advantage. Abhinav Mukund threw his wicket and Shikhar Dhawan offered a chance but the hosts didn't take it and that was it. What followed was mayhem as Dhawan combined with Cheteshwar Pujara to share a 253-run stand. While the former entertained the crowd, the latter was more than happy to play himself in.

India post 399/3 (Pujara 144*, Rahane 39*) at stumps, their highest ever total on Day 1 of an away Test

85 overs: 381/3. Pujara 135(234), Rahane 30 (77)

The new ball is due now.

80 overs: 361/3. Pujara 123(219), Rahane 26 (62)

72 overs: 335/3. Pujara 109(192), Rahane 15 (41)

CENTURY! 12th Test ton for Pujara. Full and on the stumps, Pujara clips it through the mid-wicket region for a couple of runs. Brings up his century as well. He has been the unsung hero in the last few years for Indian cricket. He will want to ensure that he makes it a big one.

FOUR! Sublime! Herath bowls around off, Pujara comes down the track and clips it to the right of the bowler. Herath cannot stop it and the ball runs into the long on fence. He moves onto 97!

FOUR! Herath give it more air, Pujara accepts the invitation, comes down and drives it through the covers for a boundary. Excellent shot.

Nuwan Pradeep to Ajinkya Rahane, Lovely shot! Good length outside off, Rahane punches it off the back foot. The fielder gives it a chase and saves a run for his side. Ajinkya is off the mark at last.

Ajinkya Rahane walks out into the middle.

OUT! Nuwan Pradeep to Virat Kohli, Big wicket for Sri Lanka! Shorter in length around middle and leg, Kohli looks to pull it but seems to have missed it. The keeper takes the catch and appeals. It is a loud one and with the umpire saying no, Herath goes for the review after some consultation. Replays show that it is touch and go. There seems to be a faint nick on that one. Ultra Edge takes its time and since there is a small deflection when the ball went past the bat the third umpire thinks it is good enough to be given out. Kohli is not sure of it as he walks off the field. Ideal start for the home side after the break. Pradeep has taken all the three wickets to fall so far. Remember, Kohli had a bit of trouble against the short balls in the ODIs in West Indies. Sri Lanka did their home work well.

167 runs, 1 wicket - there is no doubt who owned the session, Shikhar Dhawan! He broke the record for scoring the most number of runs in a session for India. And he won't be wrong to think he threw a chance to make a huge, huge, huge score. India are firmly in the driver's seat and will want to bat on. Sri Lanka will want some heavenly help to keep India in check. Join us in a while for the last session of play.

THAT'S TEA ON DAY 1!

55 overs: 282/2. Pujara 75(135), Kohli 1 (3)

Virat Kohli is the next man in.

OUT! Dhawan throws it away! Good length delivery outside off, Shikhar comes down the track and tries to go over the fielder at mid off. Mistimes it and the ball goes straight to Mathews who makes no mistake. A fantastic knock comes to an end and he misses out on his first double hundred by just 10 runs. Sri Lanka will want to pick up a couple of quick wickets now to get back into the game.

50 overs: 255/1. Dhawan 177 (157), Pujara 68(119)

150-run stand between Dhawan and Pujara.

16th Test fifty for Cheteshwar Pujara!

37 overs: 174/1. Dhawan 111 (119), Pujara 49(78)

5th Test hundred for Shikhar Dhawan!

 FOUR! CENTURY! Dhawan is back and how! Dilruwan bowls it around off, Shikhar gets down on it and sweeps it through the backward square leg region for a boundary. He celebrates it in his usual way, his second ton at this venue. He has been absolutely magnificent today.

34 overs: 154/1. Dhawan 97(109), Pujara 43(70)

FOUR! Herath is being hit out! This time Dhawan goes to the left of the bowler and smashes this one down the ground for a boundary.

FOUR! Shot of the day! Herath bowls it outside off, Dhawan strides out of his crease, just punches his drive wide of mid off for a boundary. Superb timing, even better placement!

Play time! Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara stride out to bat. They will aim to carry on the good work while the hosts will look for some wickets to keep them in check. They begin the proceedings with Nuwan Pradeep! Here we go...

... Day 1, Session 2 ...

An excellent session of play for India. They have done nothing wrong except losing the wicket of Abhinav Mukund. Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara are looking really comfortable in the middle as the Lankan bowlers have not been disciplined and bowled too many poor balls. The former who got a life earlier has already gone past his fifty and is looking all set for a big knock. Rangana Herath will have a lot of thinking to do as India are going at a really good rate. Join us in a while for the second session.

LUNCH

27 overs: 115/1. Dhawan 64(78), Pujara 37(59)

25 overs: 107/1. Dhawan 61(73), Pujara 32(52)

4th Test fifty for Shikhar Dhawan!

20 overs: 65/1. Dhawan 48(60), Pujara 23(35)

15 overs: 65/1. Dhawan 35(41), Pujara 16(24)

Lahiru Kumara to Shikhar Dhawan, Dropped! Length delivery outside off, Dhawan leans into the drive. Gets a thick outside edge on it and the ball flies towards second slip. Asela Gunaratne dives to his left, gets his hand to it but fails to hold onto it. A regulation catch goes down and it might be costly one. Kumara is disappointed and the batsmen run a single. Gunaratne goes crashing down in pain.

50 comes up for Team India! After the early loss, Dhawan and Pujara are looking to build a partnership.

 

Cheteshwar Pujara makes his way out to the middle. He had a good time the last time he played a Test here.

WICKET! Nuwan Pradeep has Abhinav Mukund caught behind for 12

5 overs: 15/0. Mukund 7(19), Dhawan 8(11)

2 overs: 5/0. Mukund 3(9), Dhawan 1(3)

1 over: India 4/0. Mukund 3(3), Dhawan 1(3)

The players are out in the middle! The two Indian openers are Shikhar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund. Sri Lanka begin with Nuwan Pradeep. He has three slips in place for him. Here we go...

Sri Lanka skipper, Rangana Herath opines that he would have batted as well. He calls it a good wicket and hopes that they keep the Indians in check. (It started to rain and hence they couldn't talk more). The covers are on now!

India skipper, Virat Kohli informs that he will bat first. Reckons that it looks a pretty hard surface and they will look to make the most of it. Adds that putting runs on the board is always a nice thing. Mentions that Shikhar Dhawan comes in place for KL Rahul who is down with flu. Further says that they are sticking with the same combination with Shami, Umesh, Jadeja, Ashwin and Pandya who is making his Test debut. Ends by saying that he backs his four strike bowlers to do the job for them.

TOSS - India win the toss and elect to bat.

Pitch report - Simon Doull and Russel Arnold feel that the pitch has something for everyone. There are a few dark patches and it may be a bit two-paced. Arnold expects the ball to misbehave. He thinks that the first day will be the best day to bat as batting will get difficult as the game goes on. Team winning the toss should look to bat first.

Sri Lanka on the other hand got out of jail against Zimbabwe. That they chased down a massive total should boost their confidence but they will be aware that India is a different challenge. The onus will be on the seniors to lead from the front. In the absence of Dinesh Chandimal, the hero of that 2015 Test, Rangana Herath will lead the side. Let's see how both teams fare.

Hello everyone! Welcome to the coverage of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India at the Galle International Stadium. It was here in 2015 that a shock-loss woke India to a stupendous run in the longest format of the game. Virat Kohli and co. arrive in the Island nation as favorites and will want to ensure there are no hiccups this time around.

PREVIEW

After a dominating end to the home Test season that included series wins against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, India are all set to start afresh under new coach Ravi Shastri, when they take on Sri Lanka in the three-Test series here.

Going into the first Test of the series on Wednesday, the Virat Kohli-led side will have in their mind their previous tour to the island nation in 2015, when they bounced back from a 0-1 deficit to a 2-1 win and gradually ascend to the top of the ICC Test rankings.

The Galle International Stadium hasn't been a happy hunting ground for the Indians, having managed a single win, way back in 2008 and thereafter losing three on the trot.

In 2015, India succumbed to a 63-run loss on the penultimate day, thanks to a magical seven-wicket haul by veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, who will be leading the side in the first Test in the absence of newly-appointed skipper Dinesh Chandimal, down with pneumonia.

But the young Indian side bounced back well to win the next two matches in Colombo, and claim the series 2-1.

The only factor common between the series then and now is the presence of former India all-rounder Shastri. He was then Team Director then and now is the newly-appointed coach with his own set of support staff, that includes Bharat Arun's return as the bowling coach.

Combining the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons, India have lost only one out of 23 Tests (against Australia at Pune) since that defeat in Galle.

Heading in to the game, India's only headache is the loss of opener Lokesh Rahul, who was down with viral fever and ruled out of the first Test.

In such a case, Abhinav Mukund and Shikhar Dhawan are most likely to open the innings unless Kohli and the team management promote Cheteshwar Pujara as the opener.

The middle order looks more or less a settled unit with Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and stumper Wriddhiman Saha, while Rohit Sharma looks set to be back to the playing XI.

The bowling department will have the world class spin twins of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be playing his 50th Test. Besides that, if Kohli decides to go with five bowlers, there is no doubt he will go in with an extra spinner in chinaman Kuldeep Yadav.

Kohli has enough options from his pace bowling department, which includes the likes of Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with Hardik Pandya providing him the extra all-round option.

On the other hand, the hosts are in a transitional phase after the retirements of stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.

There has also been a change to their support staff after Graham Ford stepped down and was replaced by fielding coach Nic Pothas on an interim basis.

For the Tests against India, the Sri Lankans have former cricketers Chaminda Vaas and Hashan Tillakaratne as bowling and batting coaches respectively.

With Chandimal ruled out of the first game, the onus will be on the young guns to take up the challenge against a formidable Indian team.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund.

Sri Lanka: Rangana Herath (Captain), Upul Tharanga, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella (WK), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Malinda Pushpakumara, Nuwan Pradeep.