Colombo Test: Pujara, Rahane shine bright on Day 1, India 344/3 at stumps
Both the batsmen remained not out at the stumps with 128 and 103 respectively.
Pujara hit 10 fours and a six in his 128 runs innings so far while Rahane has a better strike rate with 12 fours.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, India went off to a good start with the partnership between two opening batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan and Lokesh Rahul.
Though Dhawan lost his wicket after a blazing knock of 35 from 37 deliveries, Rahul partnered dependable Pujara to push the team towards a bigger score.
Post lunch, India lost two quick wickets of Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli. After the dismissal of Kohli, Pujara-Rahane partnership of unbeaten 211 runs remained invincible by the Lankan bowlers on Day 1.
While Rahul lost his wicket at 57 (82), captain Kohli had another bad day with the bat as he went for just 13 (29).
Sri Lankan bowlers had not much to boast upon on the first day of the match as the Indian batters punished them hard throughout the day.
Among the Lankan bowlers, Dilruwan Perera had the best bowling figure with 1/ 68 in 18 overs.
Pujara completed his 4000 test runs on Thursday. He took 50 tests to achieve this feat in the longest format of the cricket.
India lead the three-match test series 1-0.
Images: Official Facebook page and Instagram profile of ICC.
Official Instagram profile of Indian Cricket Team.
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