India takes upper hand on Day one, bowls out Sri Lanka 'A' for 266

Leicester, Aug 3 (UNI) Medium pacer Ranadeb Bose broke the back of opposition top order with a five wicket haul and off-spinner Romesh Pawar chipped in with four as India bowled out Sri Lanka 'A' for 266 to take command at the close of first day's play in the three-day tour match at Grace Road here today.

In reply, India were 25 for one with Dinesh Karthik already back in the pavilion after making 11. Wasim Jaffer on seven and Gautam Gambhir on three saw the day through for India.

On a good batting track, the Sri Lankans won the toss and elected to bat first but Bose and Powar tied the them down. The Indian bowlers were also helped by some sloppy batting by the islanders.

Bose bowled a probing on-and-outside off stump line, making the batsmen play, yet not offering too much of width to drive. He was threatening in the morning, when he was denied some confident lbw appeals, incisive in the afternoon, when one spell read 4-1-3-2, and quick in dispatching the tailenders later in the Lanka innings.

Powar, who was brought on as early as the tenth over of the day, on the other hand, tossed the ball up all day. The tailenders didn't have a clue against his offbreaks and drifters and he knocked them over in a spell that produced three wickets in four balls. He, in fact, ran rings around the tail.

Both overshadowed half-centuries from Michael Vandort (52) and Thilan Samaraweera (75), batsmen who gave it away after being well set.

Young Delhi pacer Ishant Sharma, who was used in short spells by skipper Rahul Dravid, bagged one wicket while Anil Kumble went wicketless in his 11 overs.

Sri Lanka opener Vandort began tentatively and took 80 minutes to cross double figures. But, once settled, he eased to his fifty with some confident drives. He, however, gave his wicket away immediately after that.

Dilruwan Perera was lucky to get through a tricky opening phase but an ugly swipe moments before lunch cut his innings short.

Sri Lanka were revived somewhat only because Samaraweera managed to string together half-century partnerships with the tail. He calmly accumulated runs in his 62-run sixth-wicket stand, as Kaushal Lokuarachchi turned aggressor, and stepped it up in his 51-run union for the seventh wicket, with a confident Dhammika Prasad for company.

He too gave his wicket away, trying to glide Powar to third man and snicking to Dinesh Karthik, who kept wickets for India.

UNI