Kolkata Test, Day 1: Suranga Lakmal rattles India top order on a day affected by bad weather

Kolkata, Nov 16: Rain and visiting pacer Suranga Lakmal were the only talking points of the opening day of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka on Thursday (November 16) here.

Match Scorecard

Right-handed pacer, Lakmal, gave India three big blows in a game that was constantly halted by rain and bad light. Lakmal rattled the top order by getting rid of both the Indian openers and their skipper Virat Kohli in his short spell and fiery spell of 6 overs without conceding a single run.

Sri Lanka skipper Dinesh Chandimal won a crucial toss and invited India captain Virat Kohli to bat first on a green Eden Gardens track. Lakmal justified his skipper's decision on the very first ball of the match by removing KL Rahul (0) caught behind with an almost unplayable delivery.

Hours of play for Day 1 of the 1st Test #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/nJML3eGGmy

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2017

As batting looked tough on the seam-friendly track, India lost Shikhar Dhawan for 8 and also their most important wicket in skipper Kohli. Kohli played 11 deliveries without adding any run to his tally before he was trapped in front by Lakmal.

The skipper reviewed his dismissal but it turned out to be an umpire's call and the right-handed batsman had to walk back towards the pavilion.

Dhawan started his innings with caution and hit a boundary in his 11-ball innings. The left-handed batsman paid the price of playing an ambitious shot but played it on to the stumps after the ball took an inside edge of his blade.

The super sopper and ground staff hard at work at the Eden Gardens #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/H050l54s4w

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2017

Cheteshwar Pujara (8* off 43) and Ajinkya Rahane (0* off 5 deliveries) were present at the crease when the umpires halted the play due to bad light. Only 11.5 overs were bowled in the entire day, which tested the patience of the cricketers.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, operated two bowlers i.e. Lakmal (6-6-0-3) and Lahiru Gamage (5.5-1-16-0). The visitors must be pretty happy with their performance on a day that was marred by rain.

Keeping the overcast conditions and green pitch - conditions favourable for seam bowling - in mind, the visiting captain elected to bowl. More than 3 hours of the day's play was lost due to wet outfield and drizzle. Finally, the toss was conducted at 1 PM.

Earlier, both the teams decided to play with six batters and five bowlers in the opening Test. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are back into the side while pace battery will be led by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. Wicketkeeper-batsman Wriddhiman Saha will be the sixth batsman for India.

Sri Lanka wins the toss and elects to bowl first in the 1st Test #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/fO6EQabS3A

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2017

The covers at the stadium were drawn till 1 PM and the ground staff made constant efforts to make it match ready as soon as the drizzle stopped.

There is a threat of rain during the entire Test as the Met department has predicted rain for the next three days as well.

Playing XIs:

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Niroshan Dickwella(wk), Dasun Shanaka, Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lahiru Gamage.

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Wriddhiman Saha(wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.

Match Facts:

India's Ravichandran Ashwin and Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath have claimed more Test wickets than anybody else since the start of 2015; taking 178 and 145 respectively in that time.

Dilruwan Perera is seven away from reaching 100 Test wickets; he is set to become only the third spinner to reach the milestone for Sri Lanka, despite having only played 22 Test matches to date (Muralitharan & Herath).

India have played more Test matches at Eden Gardens than anywhere else (40) but have only managed a win rate of 30% there (W12 D19 L9); only at one other home venue (Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, 28%) have they registered a lower win percentage (10+ Tests).

In fact, Sri Lanka are yet to claim a single Test victory in India (D7 L10); they have lost their last two matches there, both by innings margins.

India have never lost a bilateral Test series at home to Sri Lanka (2+ matches); winning four times, including Sri Lanka's last two such tours there (D1).