Jurel hits 95 not out as India reach 475-8 at tea in Sri Lanka Test
/ Photo: Ishara S. KODIKARA - AFP
Jurel hits 95 not out as India reach 475-8 at tea in Sri Lanka Test
Dhruv Jurel hit an unbeaten 95 as India reached 475-8 at tea on the second day of the second Test against Sri Lanka before rain stopped play on Monday.
Jurel, 25, was closing in on his second Test hundred when the players were forced off the field by a heavy downpour at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club ground.
Mohammed Siraj was yet to get off the mark.
Jurel shared 112 runs for the seventh wicket with Rishabh Pant (63) to put India on a strong footing.
Pant, who was forced to retire hurt on the opening day after being hit on the forearm, resumed his innings on Monday morning and continued to bat with authority despite taking a couple more painful blows.
He pulled a Lahiru Kumara delivery for six, the ball sailing into the adjoining tennis courts and disappearing, forcing the umpires to call for a replacement.
His attacking innings came to an end when he was dismissed off the first ball after lunch when he attempted to clear long-off.
It was Pant's 21st half-century in Test cricket.
Jurel's unbeaten 95 came off 155 deliveries and included nine fours.
Asitha Fernando made clever use of the short ball and was Sri Lanka's most successful bowler, claiming 4-78.
Fernando and India opener Yashaswi Jaiswal were fined 25 percent of his match fees following their heated exchange on the first day.
The pair almost came to blows before their teammates intervened.
India's number three batsman Devdutt Padikkal posted a fine 117 on Sunday to bolster the tourists on the opening day after they lost their openers early.
India won the first Test of the two-match series by 165 runs in Galle.
D.Camden--MC-UK
