Hardik Pandya's might, India's day

PALLEKELE: As Hardik Pandya was tearing into their bowlers on the morning of Day Two of the third Test at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium here, the Sri Lankans, clearly nervous after his unexpected assault, posted as many as eight men on the boundary, even as chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan kept bowling googlies which went wide of the stumps, in an attempt to keep the ball out of the marauding all-rounder's reach.
At that moment, it seemed that Pandya was batting for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL, rather than in the morning session of a Test match. Nevertheless, Lanka's defensive and negative tactics failed to stop the Baroda youngster, who successfully trusted his big-hitting skills to smash one of the most explosive hundreds you'll ever see from a No 8 batsman in Test cricket.
Blasting the Lankan bowlers for seven sixes and eight fours during his 96-ball 108, Pandya left cricket fans around the world in awe of his skills.
Realising that he was in danger of running out of partners after completing his 50, Pandya tore into Malinda Pushpakumara, dancing down the wicket repeatedly to smash the left-arm spinner for 26 runs in an over, whose sequence read: 4,4,6,6,6,0. Suddenly, from 57, Pandya had zoomed to 83.
A hooked six off Lahiru Kumara saw him enter the 90s, but it seemed as if it was the Lankan team that was experiencing the nervous 90s syndrome. Out came another slog-swept 'maximum' onto the grass banks over deep mid-wicket off Lakshan Sandakan, and a cracking on-drive off Kumara, and Pandya was soon celebrating his maiden Test hundred, which came off just 86 balls. It's the fastest century by an India No 8 in Tests, and definitely the most brutal. During his stroke-filled ton, in which he blazed away from 50 to 100 in just 25 balls, Pandya added 66 off just 49 balls for the last wicket with No 11 Umesh Yadav, whose contribution was an unbeaten 3. By the time he was done, the all-rounder had taken India to 487, which looked unthinkable when they lost Wriddhiman Saha in the morning to be 339 for seven.
In the company of another budding all-rounder, Kuldeep Yadav, Pandya first took India past 400, as the duo added 62 in 117 balls for the eighth wicket. It was a stand during which Pandya was content to rotate strike and hit the odd boundary, as he reached 50 off 61 balls.
Pandya's knock seemed to be the last nail in the coffin for the hapless Lankans, as they went on to surrender to the might of the Indian team, after promising so much on Day One of this Test. Sandakan took a five-for, but it came at a high cost.
A hostile spell from Mohammad Shami consumed both the openers, Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne, before a bad mix-up saw Kusal Mendis, who looked impressive till he was in the middle, get run out.
After putting in a good dive to stop the ball, R Ashwin missed the stumps with his throw, but Mendis had sprinted a long distance down the wicket and that left Kuldeep Yadav with enough time to throw down the stumps.
Left agonised after being involved in that dismissal, skipper Dinesh Chandimal (48, 87, 6x4) tried to do damage control with Niroshan Dickwella with a 61-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, few Sri Lankan batsmen were willing to show application against the guile of chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, who grabbed four wickets, even as Ashwin collected two. The icing on the cake for Pandya was dismissing Angelo Mathews for a duck with one that seamed in and kept low.
Batting like they'd forgotten how to play Test cricket, Lanka, going by even the pathetic standards that they've set in this series, folded up under three hours and 37.4 overs for 135.
Even as Umesh Yadav pulled a muscle and walked into the pavilion to get some treatment, India, leading by a massive 352 runs, asked the hapless Lankans to follow on. Much to the visitors' relief, Yadav returned to dislodge Tharanga's stumps, who chopped one onto his stumps to complete perhaps one of the worst days in the history of Sri Lankan cricket.