SL 21-1 after 9 overs (Thirimanne 9, Karunaratne 11)

Stumps. Sri Lanka trail by 384 runs with 9 wickets remaining. It is going to be a hard grind on Day 4 for Sri Lanka and they will have to take it session by session on Day 4. It is not going to be easy but that’s all SL can do.

SL 0-1 after 0.2 overs (Thirimanne 3)

Sadeera was too aggressive in his previous few innings and here he thought he would leave the ball. Instead, the ball came back just a tad and hit the top of the off-stump. What a delivery from Ishant!

S Samarawickrama b I Sharma 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

Ind 610-6 after 166.1 overs (Rohit 102, Saha 1)

Finally, Rohit Sharma has his ton too. His third in Test cricket. Only the third time four batsmen have scored a hundred in the same innings for India. Kohli has declared the innings too. India lead by 405 runs.

Most 100s for India in an innings
2007 vs Ban: Karthik, Jaffer, Dravid, Sachin
2010 vs SA: Sehwag, Sachin, Laxman, Dhoni
2017 vs SL: Vijay, Pujara, Kohli, Rohit

Ind 583-5 after 169.5 overs (Kohli 200, Rohit 78)

WICKET! Kohli’s outstanding innings comes to an end. He is walking back after holing out in the deep. He made 213 and was clearly trying to force the pace now. Probably the first mistake he made in his innings. But his job is done.

Virat Kohli’s last 7 Test centuries: 200, 211, 167, 235, 204, 103*, 213.

V Kohli c Karunaratne b Perera 213 (267b 17x4 2x6)

Ind 567-4 after 168 overs (Kohli 200, Rohit 78)

And Kohli made it look easy. Double centuries, centuries, records being broken – Kohli is in scintillating form. Granted the opposition isn’t great but a double century still takes some getting. Take a bow, Kohli.

Ind 549-4 after 165 overs (Kohli 187, Rohit 73)

Easy going for India. Sri Lanka waiting for the third new ball, Kohli waiting for his double century, Rohit waiting for his century. It’s a bit of a waiting game right now. India lead by 344 runs now.

Ind 507-4 after 157 overs (Kohli 170, Rohit 51)

Tea time. 30 overs, 103 runs, 1 wicket in the session. India lead by 302 runs. Expect Virat Kohli to go for his double century and then probably declare.

Ind 502-4 after 154 overs (Kohli 167, Rohit 49)

A bit too easy for India at the moment. The batsmen were at least challenged by the condition in Kolkata but at Nagpur, the gulf in the two sides has become even more apparent. India lead by 298 runs now.

Ind 480-4 after 147 overs (Kohli 159, Rohit 38)

India lead by 273 runs. Kohli and Rohit are going for a few more big shots now and clearly a declaration should be on the cards soon. No point in just batting on.

Ind 445-4 after 141 overs (Kohli 152, Rohit 20)

Kohli reaches his 7th 150+ score with a six over long-on. His bottom-hand grip came into full effect and he just cleared managed to clear the field. 151 off 193 balls and he looks as fresh as a daisy.

Ind 445-4 after 137 overs (Kohli 143, Rohit 19)

A six over long-off and a french cut that just misses the stumps – it’s all happening for Rohit in the middle. India’s lead is up to 240 runs. A vital innings for Rohit’s Test career to be sure. The temptation to play him is always there given the kind of strokes he can play. But can he show he is a good enough Test cricketer?

Ind 426-4 after 134 overs (Kohli 135, Rohit 8)

Gamage going off the field after injuring his while fielding. He was having trouble putting any weight on his right leg. Meanwhile, Rohit is settling well and looking good.

Ind 410-4 after 129.4 overs (Kohli 127)

WICKET! Rahane (2) caught at point. He cut the ball, couldn’t keep it down and gone. A missed opportunity for him and a big opportunity for Rohit Sharma.

Rahane c Karunaratne b Perera 2 (15b)

Ind 404-3 after 127 overs (Kohli 123, Rahane 0)

And that is lunch. India are 404-3 and are dominating the proceedings. Rahane is in and this is a crucial innings for him – as good as he is away from home, his home record is a bit lacking. Kohli will look to be as ruthless as he always is.

As good as Pujara’s knock was – many will perhaps argue that his SR was not right for this kind of wicket. Mentally, he seemed to have got stuck in a rut and that might have proved to be his undoing.

Ind 399-3 after 124.5 overs (Kohli 118)

WICKET! Pujara has been yorked. He got stuck a little and is walking back after making a patient 143. He has a troubling tendency of getting bowled a lot – sometimes well against the run of events. His partnership with Kohli was worth 183 runs.

CA Pujara b Shanaka 143 (362b, 14x4)

Ind 395-2 after 124 overs (Pujara 142, Kohli 116)

India lead by 190 runs. The only questions that are being asked are whether Pujara and Kohli can go on to get their double hundreds, which are clearly there for the taking. This is poor cricket by Sri Lanka.

Ind 373-2 after 119 overs (Pujara 137, Kohli 100)

Brilliant ton by Virat, his 10th international ton of the year and 19th Test ton. It is also his 12 as skipper – the most by an Indian skipper, moving ahead of Sunil Gavaskar who had 11. Gavaskar took 74 innings to get his 11 tons and Kohli has needed just 49 innings.

Ind 369-2 after 118 overs (Pujara 134, Kohli 98)

The Virat-Pujara partnership is now with 153 runs (249 balls). Kohli’s contribution to the partnership is 98 runs. India lead by 164 runs.

Ind 362-2 after 115 overs (Pujara 133, Kohli 92)

India lead by 157 runs. The scoring rate has been great, Kohli has dominated the proceedings. But the Sri Lankans have been perhaps guilty of bowling without any real plan in mind. In the Ashes Test, for example, England went with a sustained short ball attack when Steve Smith was batting. It didn’t work but they at least tried something. Sri Lanka seem to be waiting for a miracle at the moment – though it won’t be one they would have worked about to bring themselves.

The partnership is already worth 146 runs from 237 balls.

Ind 341-2 after 110 overs (Pujara 128, Kohli 76)

With Kohli in the middle, India will never have to worry about the run-rate. It also means that Pujara will be free to play his own game. That said, the Sri Lankan bowlers have not had a chance at all.

Ind 328-2 after 105 overs (Pujara 122, Kohli 69)

22 balls without a run today for Pujara before he scampered through for a single. He is taking his time settling in again and that’s a good thing, he plays his own game. Kohli might need to adjust his game.

Also, in case, you haven’t noticed... Pujara is batting for the eighth consecutive day in Test cricket.

Ind 313-2 after 100 overs (Pujara 121, Kohli 55)

The ball is around 20 overs old now and while there is bounce in the wicket, there is little movement to help the seamers. The run-rate is 3.13 but you can expect it to get even better as the day goes on.

Form and function

Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have been positive in their stay at the wicket. They will look to drive home the advantage even more on Day 3. India lead by 107 runs with 8 wickets in hand. Pujara begins the day on 121 and Kohli is on 54.

SL’s spin challenge

A country which produced champion players of spin bowling such as Roy Dias, Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda de Silva, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, it has been sharp downward slide for Dinesh Chandimal’s men.

“This group in last two years has not batted well against spin. I have observed that and lot of work for us to do in the future,” Samaraweera said after the days play.

Ashwin and Jadeja shared seven wickets between them on the first day of the second Test.

“As I have said, in the last two years, we have had problems with spin. It is a major concern for me. Traditionally, we have been good players of spin bowling, but last two years we have struggled.

Ball tampering

Sri Lanka fast bowler Dasun Shanaka courted controversy for ball tampering during the second day of the second cricket Test here against India.

The incident happened in the 50th over when TV cameras caught Shanaka picking the seam of the ball.

The medium pacer admitted he tried to tamper with the ball to ICC match referree David Boon.

According to an ICC media release, Shanaka has been fined 75 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 2 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

Shanaka was found to have breached Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “changing the condition of the ball in breach of clause 41.3.”