July 18: India’s fragile attack stood exposed as Sri Lanka marched untroubled on to an impressive 256/2 on a truncated opening day of the first Test here on Sunday. Opener Tharanga Paranavitana registered his maiden hundred while skipper Kumar Sangakkara notched up his 22nd century as the hosts finished proceedings in a position of strength.

The centurions were probed only in patches. Runs came easily against an attack that was friendly and failed to plug the run flow. Sangakkara won an important toss and it looked a long day for the visitors from the start. Debutant Abhimanyu Mithun generated decent pace without losing direction. Ishant Sharma provided too many opportunities from the other end to lift the pressure.

M.S. Dhoni putting down Sangakkara off Virender Sehwag when the batsman was on 65 only hampered the cause further.

The first hour saw Tillakaratne Dilshan and Paranavitana seizing control. Mithun had a few confident shouts turned down but the passage of play was dominated largely by the bat. Ishant was unlucky as Paranavitana edged him through third man for three boundaries but the bowler failed to sustain pressure. It was a case of losing momentum early. Dhoni did not posses the resources to alter plans.

Dilshan batted without caution and Ishant obliged by bowling to his zone. The right-hander played and missed but survived to bring up the 50 in 46 minutes. It was only when Mithun got a change of ends did the first success come by. Dilshan’s intended hook was gloved and Dhoni snapped up a smart catch. The batsman was not convinced but TV replays justified the decision. After a tight first spell of four overs for six runs, Mithun deserved the wicket. Ishant bled for 41 off his first five. It forced Dhoni to bring on a not fully fit Harbhajan Singh, early. Lunch was taken after 20 overs with the score progressing to 91/1. The only other chance came in the form of a sharp chance to Gautam Gambhir at short leg off Harbhajan but Paranavitana was lucky.

With Ishant proving expensive and Harbhajan missing from the field for close to 30 minutes the onus was on Pragyan Ojha to stem the flow of runs. The left-armer failed by sliding the ball faster.

The strong off-side field was reduced to nothing as Sangakkara was allowed to deploy the sweep to good effect. The captain was also severe on anything short outside off stump. Harbhajan providing the length for the square cut ensured the scoreboard got a move on. Harbhajan looked better when he struck to a line closer to off-stump. Pushing the ball at a quicker pace and drifting towards the pads only allowed the batsmen to rotate the strike with ease.

India had their chances. A wild slash from Paranavitana went inches over V.V.S. Laxman, stationed at second slip. The reprieve from Dhoni only added to the situation. Sangakkara brought up his hundred in 118 minutes and 136 balls. The post lunch session ushered in 137 runs in 38 overs. With wickets hard to come by, the call was for tighter cricket and India missed the trick.

It was only appropriate that Paranavitana reached his hundred with a run to third man, an area through which he picked up six boundaries, though not intentionally. With dark clouds looming Sri Lanka were all set to take stumps with one wicket down but Sehwag was finally rewarded when Sangakkara pulled a long hop to the only fielder outside the circle on the on side. Sachin Tendulkar made no mistake at deep mid-wicket. The second wicket stand was worth 181 in 51 overs.

Ojha finally managed to turn a delivery past the batsman towards close but Mahela Jayawardene survived. India’s only option now is early wickets. That looks difficult, but not impossible. Earlier a wet outfield delayed start by 30 minutes. Bad light and rain led to play being called off with 22 overs left to be bowled.

SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka 1st innings

T. Paranavitana not out 110, T. Dilshan c Dhoni b Mithun 25, K. Sangakkara c Tendulkar b Sehwag 103
M. Jayawardene not out 8

Extras: (lb6, nb4) 10
Total (68 overs) 256/2
Fall of wickets: 1-55 (Dilshan), 2-236 (Sangakkara).
Bowling: Sharma 14-3-79-0 (nb4), Mithun 13-2-41-1, Harbhajan 17-3-41-0, Ojha 17-1-66-0, Sehwag 7-0-23-1.