Dhruv Jurel struck a fluent hundred to take India past 500 before they stamped their authority by restricting Sri Lanka to 8/2 at stumps on Day 2 of the second Test at the SSC.
India resumed their first innings at 300/5 this morning. Asitha Fernando struck in the second over of the day as Saransh Jain became his fourth victim. Rishabh Pant walked in to continue his innings, and he and overnight batter Dhruv Jurel gradually shifted the momentum in favour of the visitors.
The two Sri Lankan pacers continued with the short-ball ploy, but Pant responded bravely. Their seventh-wicket partnership went past 100 as India also reached the 400-run mark. The morning session saw India score 119 runs at a healthy rate of just under 4.50 runs per over, with both batters reaching their fifties.
Right after lunch, Keshara Nuwantha brought the 112-run stand to an end, with Pant holing out to deep mid-off off the very first delivery of the second session. Jurel looked fluent and took India past 450 alongside Manav Suthar. Prabath Jayasuriya toiled hard and finally picked up his first wicket, with Suthar edging one through to the keeper. Mohammed Siraj faced 17 deliveries without scoring while Jurel moved closer to his hundred, before play was stopped due to rain with half an hour remaining before the tea break.
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After a more than 60-minute delay, play resumed at 4:25 PM.
The visitors batted for 6.4 overs after the break before declaring their first innings immediately after crossing the 500-run mark. Jurel handled the tail well and registered his second Test hundred, despite being stuck on 99 for a while.
Fernando, who spearheaded the Sri Lankan attack, bowled with plenty of heart and tried everything to claim his fifth wicket, but finished with figures of 4/106. Jayasuriya and Nuwantha were unable to trouble the Indian batters consistently, sharing four wickets between them.
Lahiru Udara and Kamil Mishara opened the innings for the home side, but just two balls into their innings, bad light stopped play and the covers were brought on. The light improved, and play resumed at 5:35 PM after nearly a 30-minute delay.
India were clearly looking to bowl a few overs and pick up wickets before stumps. They got exactly what they wanted when Prasidh Krishna struck with the second delivery of the second over, removing Lahiru Udara. The outside edge flew towards third slip, where Yashasvi Jaiswal dived to his right to take a fine catch.
Prabath Jayasuriya came out as the nightwatchman but could not survive until the end of play. Manav Suthar was introduced after just two overs, with the seamers unable to bowl in the fading light. Jayasuriya was given out LBW off the final ball of the over. The on-field decision was upheld after the review, and the stumps were called immediately afterwards.
Brief Scores:
India 503/9 (138) Devdutt Padikkal 117, Dhruv Jurel 115*, Rishabh Pant 63, Shubman Gill 50, Asitha Fernando 4/106, Prabath Jayasuriya 2/132, Keshara Nuwantha 2/154
Sri Lanka 8/2 (3)
Stumps – Day 2, Sri Lanka trail by 495 runs.
