India 50-2 in rain-shortened day in Colombo

• Kohli and Pujara at the crease for IndiaOnly 15 overs of play possible

Indian cricketer Lokesh Rahul  is bowled by Dhammika Prasad for 2 runs  during the first day of the third and final Test cricket match between Sri Lanka and India at the Sinhalese sports club (SSC) Ground yesterday -  Pic by Shantha Rathnayake

Ground workers pull the covers to cover the ground as the match was stopped due to rain, on the first day of third and final test cricket match between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo , 28 August – Reuters/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Reuters: India lost two quick wickets to reach 50-2 before rain washed out the rest of the opening day of the third and final test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Friday.

Only 15 overs of play were possible in the entire day as the umpires made multiple inspections to check for a restart but called stumps about an hour after the official tea break.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was rewarded by his fast bowlers with the wickets of opener Lokesh Rahul (two) and in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane (eight) after he opted to bowl on a pitch sporting a covering of grass. India captain Virat Kohli (14) survived some nervy moments to stay unbeaten with Cheteshwar Pujara (19) when heavy rain forced the players off the ground for an early lunch break.

Rahul was clean bowled by Dhammika Prasad with the second delivery of the day with the batsman inexplicably shouldering arms to a ball that nipped back from outside the off stump.

Rahane, who scored a century in India’s second test victory last week, batted confidently before he missed a straight delivery from Nuwan Pradeep to be given out leg before wicket. India were 14-2 at that stage and looked set for more trouble but debutant wicketkeeper Kusal Perera spilled an edge from Kohli with the batsman on eight. Kohli was once again lucky when he edged Prasad but the ball fell short of the first slip. The hosts made three changes to the side that lost the second test with lower order batsman Jehan Mubarak and paceman Dushmantha Chameera being dropped while Kumar Sangakkara retired from international cricket. Hard-hitting batsman Perera, left-handed batsman Upul Tharanga and paceman Nuwan Pradeep were drafted in for the deciding test of the series tied at 1-1.

India also handed a test debut to a wicketkeeper-batsman with Naman Ojha replacing Wriddhiman Saha, who was been ruled out with a hamstring injury suffered in the second match.

Pujara, whose last match was the Boxing Day test against Australia last December, replaced injured opener Murali Vijay in the only other change in the visiting team.

Kusal Janith becomes 130th Lankan Test Player

Kusal Janith Perera received his National Cap from former Test Player and the present Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket Sidath Wettimuny prior to the third test between Sri Lanka and India yesterday. Kusal is the 130th Test Player for Sri Lanka

Indian cricket coach confident of bouncing back in next session in Colombo

Reuters:  Indian cricket team’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar on Friday (August 28) said he is confident the team will bounce back in the next session of the test match in Sri Lanka.

India lost two quick wickets to reach 50-2 before rain washed out the rest of the opening day of the third and final test against Sri Lanka at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Friday.

Only 15 overs of play were possible in the entire day as the umpires made multiple inspections to check for a restart but called stumps about an hour after the official tea break.

During a news conference in Colombo, Bangar said the game was poised and the next session was expected to be hard but the Indian team would play their best. “I think it’s evenly balanced, the game is evenly poised. We’ve managed to get over the initial hiccups, played out the difficult phase of the game. But again, I mean, this is going to be a really, really hard fought and a tight test match and we are not really looking very far ahead of us; we definitely want to come and try and bat well in the first session and take it from there,” he said. Bangar also appreciated the wicket during the series.

“I think the good thing about this series is that it has been on really good tracks wherein there is a lot to offer for the bowlers, spinners as well as good bounce and pace for the faster bowlers. I think that it is a sporting wicket; good grass cover on it. I expect the ball will seam around it quite a bit right throughout the game and it’s hard underneath, so I think it makes really for challenging cricket,” he said.

During Friday’s match, Lankan captain Angelo Mathews was rewarded by his fast bowlers with the wickets of opener Lokesh Rahul (two) and in-form batsman Ajinkya Rahane (eight) after he opted to bowl on a pitch sporting a covering of grass.