New Delhi . The Indian team continued its dominance on the second day in the second Test match between India and Sri Lanka being played in Colombo. India put a lot of pressure on Sri Lanka by scoring 503 runs in the first innings and by the end of the day's play, the host team lost two wickets for just eight runs.
Sri Lanka is currently 495 runs behind India's first innings score. In such a situation, the opening session of the third day will be very important for the host team. Sri Lanka will have to score at least 304 runs to avoid follow-on. The Indian team has a strong chance of winning the match by an innings margin.
On the second day, India started playing at 300 runs for five wickets. Saransh Jain was out early in the beginning of the day, but after this Dhruv Jurel and Rishabh Pant took charge of the innings and increased the pressure on the Sri Lankan bowlers.
Rishabh Pant, who was out of the field on the first day due to injury, made a brilliant comeback on the second day. He scored 63 runs in 89 balls and gave momentum to the Indian innings through aggressive batting. Pant's innings played an important role in putting the team's score in a strong position with aggressive shots.
On the other hand, Dhruv Jurel maintained the balance of patience and aggression and completed the second century of his Test career. Jurel remained unbeaten after scoring 115 runs. On the basis of his innings, India declared its first innings on a huge score of 503 runs.
For Sri Lanka, Asitha Fernando was the most effective bowler against the Indian batsmen. He took four wickets. However, due to the big score made by the Indian batsmen, there was extra pressure on the Sri Lankan team from the beginning.
In response to India's huge score, Sri Lanka's first innings also got off to a bad start. Due to rain and bad weather, only 25 minutes of play could be played in the final session, but even in this short time, the Indian bowlers took two important wickets.
Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna gave India its first success by dismissing Lahiru Udara on a personal score of one run. After this, in-form spinner Manav Suthar sent Prabhat Jayasuriya to the pavilion for two runs.
By the end of the day's play, Sri Lanka had scored eight runs losing two wickets. Despite the limited game, the way India took early wickets, its position in the match has become stronger.
Now on the third day, the Indian bowlers will look to wrap up Sri Lanka's first innings quickly. If Sri Lanka fails to score big then India can impose follow-on. In such a situation, the batsmen of the host team will have the responsibility of handling the innings from the beginning and staying at the crease for a long time.
The challenge for Sri Lanka is not limited to just avoiding the follow-on. He will first have to get close to India's huge score and then find a way back into the match. On the other hand, the bowlers of the Indian team will try to convert the initial lead into a decisive situation.