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Sri Lanka set sights on another massive 1st innings score
India's hopes of a bright start in their attempt to fight back in the second Test were scuppered by Sri Lanka's top order that feasted on a hard and dry pitch after opting to bat and set up the possibility of another sizable first-innings score. The virtual absence of swing and the serious lack of movement were ominous signs for an already weakened bowling attack, and the seamers didn't help their cause by consistently bowling short, offering enough opportunities to score on a generous track. Only the first over provided the bowlers any sign of encouragement, and that too proved deceptive. Abhimanyu Mithun whirled one down the leg side and conceded four byes, and induced an edge off Tharanga Paranavitana's blade which didn't carry to the wicketkeeper. There were the occasional moments later where the ball moved off the deck to beat the outside edge, but the batsmen, for the most part, saw off the first few overs with little difficulty. Mithun was the more probing of the seamers early on, trying to push the ball fuller and getting the batsman to play forward. Ishant Sharma, in contrast, fed the openers with back-of-a-length deliveries that, devoid of any assistance from the track, were unthreatening. It was as early as the fourth over that Tillakaratne Dilshan came to dominate the game, striking four consecutive boundaries off Ishant, two whipped through midwicket, one driven on the up past mid-off and the other slashed through point. Paranavitana had been a little patchy, beaten early on by Mithun, but Ishant gave him an opening with one pitched short and wide, promptly dispatched to the fence. Tentative with his foot movement early on, Paranavitana gradually moved forward to deliveries pitched fuller and picked a couple of boundaries, beautifully driven past mid-off. The runs flowed amid minimal risk and India's growing concern was evident when MS Dhoni called on all players for some pep talk during the drinks break, only to be demoralised by three fours the very next over by Dilshan off Mithun. India were quick to go on the defensive, with deep points in place for both seamers, and a long-on and deep midwicket once the spinners were introduced. While they struggled to contain the scoring, they did earn a bonus when Dilshan, shortly after reaching his fifty, squandered an opportunity to reach three-figures by driving Pragyan Ojha straight to extra cover. But Kumar Sangakkara's smooth beginning, with two fours in that same over, and the comfort with which he negotiated the remaining overs before lunch, despite variations in flight and length by the spinners, would have served the Indians a painful reminder of that opening day in Galle.
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