Leaving aside their aspirations to record their first Test win in Indian soil, the Sri Lankans have been forced to fight to save the second Test here in Kanpur after the hosts posted a massive 642 in their first innings. The tourists, who need to make 443 to avoid follow on, reached 66 for one at stumps on day two here, still requiring 377 runs to avert the follow on.The Sri Lankans did well with the ball compared to day two, where the track provided no assistance for their bowlers and Rangana Herath would remember the day more than anyone else as he picked up his fourth five wicket haul and the first outside Sri Lanka.

He hastened the end of Indian innings as the hosts collapsed losing their last six wickets for 29 runs with Herath accounting for five of them.The Indians had targeted him right from the moment he came onto bowl on day one with Virender Sehwag hoisting the fourth ball he bowled in the Test for six. But for the 31-year-old perseverance paid off as he kept on attacking and once he made the breakthrough by dismissing V.V.S. Laxman, the lower middle order didn’t have much clue how to play his wrong one.

Since his return to the senior side in July this year, when he was hastily flown home from England after Muttiah Muralitharan got injured ahead of the first Test against Pakistan in Galle, the left-arm-spinner has been consistent having picked up 31 wickets in his last six Tests. All his five wicket hauls also have come since that period.

Rahul Dravid, meanwhile, resuming from his overnight score of 85 batted serenely posting his second successive hundred. During a 94 run partnership with Sachin Tendulkar for the third wicket, he outscored the man in whose shadows he’s been living throughout his Indian career.

In the process he reached his 28th Test hundred and went past Alan Border to become the fourth most run getter in Test history. Only Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara and Ricky Ponting have scored more runs than Dravid. Tendulkar hadn’t hit a boundary in 87 deliveries and cut loose giving the charge to Ajantha Mendis whacking him for six, but four balls later, Mendis had his man when Tendulkar gave the charge again, but this time failed to clear mid-off.

Dravid was dismissed in bizarre fashion as Laxman drove back hard, but Herath failed to take the return catch but ended up deflecting the ball onto the stumps and Dravid was short of his crease. Laxman and Yuvraj Singh then posted half-centuries before Mendis picked up his second wicket when Yuvraj was well caught by Sangakkara.

Herath then ran through the tail as India lost their last four wickets for just three runs and the dismissals of M.S. Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh were identical as both batsmen were bowled through the gate missing his straighter delivery.

Sri Lanka started with a tough challenge ahead of them and they suffered a massive blow when Tillekeratne Dilshan was dismissed in the very first

delivery of the innings. Trying to put away an innocuous delivery from Zaheer Khan, he got a leading edge and was snapped up by debutant Pragyan Ojha.There was plenty happening for the Indian bowlers as Harbhajan in particular bowled a probing spell, but Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavithana played watchfully to ensure Sri Lanka didn’t lose further wickets. Of the 24 overs bowled in the Sri Lankan innings, eight were maidens as India had the option to attack with as many as five fielders around the

bat when spinners operated.

SCOREBOARD

G. Gambhir ct & b Muralitharan  167

V. Sehwag ct Dilshan b Muralitharan 131

R. Dravid run out (Herath) 144

S. Tendulkar ct Samaraweera b Mendis   40

V.V.S. Laxman ct Dilshan b Herath   63

Yuvraj Singh ct Sangakkara b Mendis   67

M.S. Dhoni b Herath   04

Harbhajan Singh b Herath   05

Zaheer Khan ct M. Jayawardene b Herath 01

S. Sreeshanth lbw b Herath   00

P. Ojha not out   01

Extras: (b 4, lb 11, nb 4)   19

Overs: 154

Fall of wickets: 1-233, 2-370, 3-464, 5-511, 6-619, 7-639, 8-641, 9-641.

Bowling: Welagedara 26-4-103-0 (4 nb), Mathews 17-2-49-0, Herath

33-3-125-5, Mendis 38-3-162-2, Muralitharan 37-0-175-2, Dilshan 3-0-17-0

T. Dilshan ct Ojha b Zaheer 00

T. Paranavithana not out 30

K. Sangakkara not out 30

Extras: (b 4, lb 1, nb 1) 06

Overs:24

Fall of wickets: 1-0.

Bowling: Zaheer 7-3-14-1, Sreeshanth 6-0-29-0, Harbhajan 7-3-9-0, Ojha

4-2-9-0 (1nb).

Sri Lanka: M. Jayawardene, T. Samaraweera, A. Mathews, P. Jayawardene, R. Herath, A. Mendis, C. Welagedara and M. Muralitharan.

Umpires: Nigel Llong (Eng) and Tony Hill (NZ)

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZ)