Sangakkara and Jayawardene give complete command to Sri Lanka

Tue, Jul 27 10 06:52 PM

T V Sriram Colombo, July 27 (PTI) Sri Lanka buried a hapless India under a mountain of runs as they relied on skipper Kumar Sangakkara''s seventh double century and Mahela Jayawardene''s sparkling ton to push the visitors on the backfoot in the second cricket Test here today. Sangakkara led from the front with an imposing 219 while Jayawardene (174) notched up his 27th century as the hosts declared the first innings at a mammoth 642 for four. In reply, India were 95 for no loss but still trailing by 547 runs at close on the second day which saw only two wickets fall and as many as 425 runs being scored on a placid. Sinhalese Sports Club. It was yet another day of toil and frustration for the Indian bowlers who failed to make much of an impression against the Lankan batsmen, who scored at a brisk pace right through the day. Sehwag (64) and Murali Vijay (22) batted in contrasting fashion as India survived 18 overs in the last session of the day without a blot on its scorecard. The sound start, best in the series so far, also lifted the gloom over the India camp as they worked hard without much success in the field for more than five sessions. Perched on top the Test rankings, India need to win this match as a defeat would not only take away their number one rank but also extend their winless streak in a Test series in the Island nation. Sehwag was his usual aggressive self and was harsh on the Lankan bowlers, particularly paceman Dammika Prasad, whom he hit thrice in third over to set the tone for the Indian reply. Exploiting the life less track, like their counterparts, India scored quickly and at an impressive run-rate of 5.27. Sehwag, the only centurion on this tour for the visitors, scored 48 of his 64 runs in boundaries while Vijay batted cautiously from the other end. Resuming the day at 312 for two, Sri Lanka started from where they had left on day one as Sangakkara and Jayawardene went about murdering the clueless Indian attack effortlessly. The Lankan skipper, overnight 130, did not take much time to complete his double century and with Jayawardene raised a 193-run partnership for the third wicket. Sangakkara''s knock came in 335 balls and was laced with 29 hits to the boundary. Thilan Samaraweera (76) joined his vice-captain in the middle and remained their till the declaration. More PTI TVS AT MRM

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