Shikhar Dhawan to miss rest of Sri Lanka series with hand injury

Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli and team director Ravi Shastri has showered praise on Sri Lankan veteran batsman Kumar Sangakkara who will retire after the 2nd Test match between India and Sri Lanka, BCCI.TV reports.

Post wrapping up the hosts for 183 runs in the first innings, India piled up a major score of 375 runs and took a 192-run lead. I think the other batsmen failed to learn from what should have been done from that sort of a wicket. It’s something we need to improve on. “There are no excuses”.

The 29-year-old picked up the injury as India somehow contrived to lose the opening Test to the islanders despite dominating three days of the match in Galle.

Herath struck with his first ball of the day, sending nightwatchman Ishant Sharma out leg before. No rocket-science. And this method seems to be working wonders for the moustache-twirler from Delhi, as he calmly notched up another Test hundred against Sri Lanka on Thursday.

“We have had batting collapses in the past as well where we have lost wickets in bunches”, Kohli added. We were tentative and that’s why we ended up being exposed. “We bowled in good lines and lengths”.

The first session on Saturday morning will be crucial with both sides looking to assert themselves. One bad session and the game can turn, that is how Test cricket is. He has the credit to be the fastest Indian Bowler to reach the 50- and 100- wicket mark in Test cricket. We were able to take 20 wickets which is important. First innings (Tharindu) Kaushal was brilliant. India’s catching was pretty impressive with Rahane the central figure as he leapt left and right and into the record books, though as a bowling unit, they had no answers to the magnificence of Chandimal in the passage of play beyond lunch. “We didn’t leave for a hour and a half because everyone was hurting badly, and there was a good, honest discussion”, the 53-year-old said. It was an innings that had “legend-in-the-making” written all over it. And playing to the gallery has always been Kohli’s biggest strength – be it blowing kisses after a ton or showing the “middle finger” to uncouth fans. People whom you think can be match winners for you. “Then it will be the start of many”.

“Now Rohit has got three to four chances”.

The idea has to be to persist with him. Dinesh Chandimal was declared Man of the Match for his swashbuckling second innings knock of 162. I am not shocked, he is very talented.

As long as Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the captain, he did justice to his role as a batsman. Sri Lanka is perhaps his most demanding assignment yet.