Shastri suggests Rohit to play the aggressor at No 6
Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat in the middle order in the Adelaide and Brisbane Tests, has failed to yield the desired results for the Indian team in the Border-Gavaskar series so far.
Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja struck twice, while pacer Mohammed Shami claimed one wicket as India reduced Sri Lanka to 31/3 at stumps after setting a target of 410 runs on the fourth day of the third Test in Delhi on Tuesday.
Earlier in the morning session, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 373 in their first innings, trailing India by 163 runs. Following that, India declared their second innings at 246/5, setting a target of 410.
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Dhananjay De Silva (13*) and Angelo Mathews (0*) were at the crease when the umpires called it a day, with Sri Lanka 379 runs behind the target.
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Captain Virat Kohli, who scored a gigantic 243-run knock in the first innings, scored 50 off 58 balls to help the hosts reach 246/5. Rohit Sharma also struck a half-century, while Jadeja stood unbeaten with four runs when India declared their innings.
Resuming the second session of the Test at 51/2, Shikhar Dhawan (67) and Cheteshwar Pujara (49) played responsibly and added 55 runs to the score. However, Pujara was caught at slips by Angelo Mathews off Dhananjaya de Silva’s delivery.
Pujara’s 66-ball innings was decorated by five boundaries. With Dhawan, he established a 77-run partnership for the third-wicket partnership.
Following the dismissal of Pujara, Dhawan got the company of Kohli and the pair started troubling the Sri Lankan bowlers again.
Dhawan displayed impressive grit on his home ground and completed 2000 Test runs, before losing his wicket to Lakshan Sandakan. Celebrating his 32nd birthday on field, Dhawan slammed five boundaries and one six in his 91-ball innings.
For Sri Lanka, De Silva and Sandakan were the successful bowlers in the second session as both of them claimed a wicket each.
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