Dravid's batting puts Sri Lanka on the back foot.

  India vs. Sri Lanka,1st Test, Day 1.

 

At 32 for 4, it appeared a repeat of the 1st Day of the India vs..South Africa Test played at the same ground. However, to state the obvious, the Sri Lanka cricket team is nowhere in the same class as the South African's and squandered a dream start.

 

Let us not get ahead of ourselves and start at the beginning, Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and unhesitatingly elected to bat.

 

Expectedly, the Indian top order, barring the maverick Virender Sehwag who played another cameo, succumbed to the swing of the Sri Lanka bowlers and was quickly on its knees.

 

That's when Rahul Dravid walked in and went on to bat the whole day and in the process completely turned the match on its head.

 

The most striking element of Dravid's innings was his rapid scoring rate. His strike rate was so good that at 385 for 6 India closed the day at its highest ever score on the 1st day of a Test match.

 

In his quest to regain the advantage of winning the toss, Dravid was ably supported by Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

 

Though 385 is a good score, Rahul Dravid should ensure that India goes on to post a score in excess of 450 and take the match completely away from the Sri Lanka cricket team.

 

Brief scores:

India 1st Innings: 385 for 6 in 90 overs (Rahul Dravid 177 not out, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 110, Yuvraj Singh 68, Chanaka Welegedara 3/75, Dhammika Prasad 2/90).