Tea report: Ashwin six spins Sri Lanka out for 183

Sri Lanka gained some ground after a tough morning session at the Galle International Stadium, recovering through Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, but once the Sri Lanka captain was dismissed the innings gave way with the remaining four wickets collapsing for 44 runs in 8.1 overs. As he had in the first session, offspinner R Ashwin removed key batsmen to end with 6/46 - a standout performance against the backdrop of some lacklustre bowling from fellow offspinner Harbhajan Singh and fast bowler Varun Aaron.Barring a shocking drop by Wriddhiman Saha that added 55 runs to Sri Lanka's total, the afternoon session was otherwise fairly blemish-free for Virat Kohli's team.
Saha dropped Chandimal on 5 moments after lunch, the simplest of outside edges put down to Ishant Sharma's disbelief. A period of recovery followed, with Chandimal and Mathews putting on 79 in 20 overs for the sixth wicket. Mathews - in his 50th Test - used his crease well, going deep to the quicks in trying to work the ball towards the leg side and nudging spin around the corner. He didn't get bogged down, crucially, and his coolheaded approach ensured that runs ticked over to India's annoyance. On 45, Mathews skipped down and clouted Harbhajan Singh for six to reach his fifty off 77 deliveries.
After a prolonged absence, Kohli turned back to Ashwin for a third spell and the rewards were almost immediate. With his ninth ball Ashwin had Mathews (64) with some help from Rohit Sharma at short leg, who took a stunning catch on the second attempt, falling backwards; six balls later Dhammika Prasad was out for 0, lbw to a well flighted one. Five for Ashwin, parity restored.
In the moments between the dismissals of Mathews and Prasad, the perky Chandimal had spanked four boundaries in one Aaron over to move to his fifty in 65 balls. With only the tail to bat with, Chandimal kept on attacking and was out for 59 to give Amit Mishra, playing his first Test in four years, his 44th career wicket. Off the next ball, Mishra found himself on a hat-trick when Tharindu Kaushal inside-edged to short leg. Rangana Herath was only interested in sweeps and reverse-sweeps and was last out for a brisk 23 to Ashwin, who took his best figures outside of India.
Earlier, after Mathews chose to bat, Sri Lanka lost half their side in the morning with Ashwin claiming three. It was India's session entirely, after being forced to field on a track that offered turn and bounce. The two fast bowlers selected, Ishant and Aaron, plucked out a Sri Lankan opener each during pacy opening spells which featured appreciable bounce from a dry surface. Then Ashwin, leader of a three-pronged spin attack, kept India's close-in catchers busy in a crippling six vers that produced three wickets.
Ishant was the better of the two quicks during a lively opening burst of 7-3-7-1, consistently hitting a nice length around off stump and sending down the odd short delivery cleverly. Dimuth Karunaratne, whose scores in the three Pakistan Tests included 130, 50 and 79, was largely unconvincing during his 19-ball stay before he fended an Ishant bounce to gully. Kaushal Silva, dropped on 4 by Shikhar Dhawan at first slip, added a single to his total before he was taken by the same fielder, though replays showed the ball had kissed the batsman's arm guard. Sri Lanka had lost both openers without a run added to the 15 on the board.
In his penultimate Test match, Kumar Sangakkara found himself striding out at 15/2, two balls into the eighth over and to the sound of fireworks at the Galle International Stadium. It was hardly the start he would have wanted in his final appearance at the scenic coastal venue, but it gave the thin crowd gathered an opportunity to witness a master at work in tough conditions. Unfortunately for those hoping for a masterclass, Sangakkara's stay at the crease lasted 12 deliveries before he fell to Ashwin just after the drinks break, at which stage Sri Lanka were in a mess at 27/3.
By lunch, that total had nudged to 65/5 with Ashwin adding Lahiru Thirimanne (13) and Jehan Mubarak (0), both left-handers undone by bounce, and Mathews looking desperately for support in applying triage to the innings.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 183 (Angelo Mathews 64, Dinesh Chandimal 59, R Ashwin 6/46) v India
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