Valuable partnerships at the right time seem to be becoming a forte for Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. While the former has earned plaudits for his consistency in the longest format, the latter’s prowess on overseas tours would have most international batsmen froth with envy.
On Thursday, the two were at it again. Pujara celebrated his 50th Test appearance by bringing up his 13th century, while Rahane notched up his sixth triple-digit score, and ninth overall. Together, the duo added more than 200 runs and led India to 344/3 at stumps.
The partnership not only put India firmly in command, but came at an opportune time. India had lost two quick wickets. KL Rahul had perished on 57 after getting run-out. Skipper Virat Kohli was dismissed soon after, leaving India in a tricky position at 133/3. Sri Lanka were clawing their way back in the game. Another wicket would put them on top. Pujara and Rahane, though, had other plans.
Earlier this year, it was their 118-run stand that led India to an improbable 75-run win over Australia in Bengaluru. Then, India were struggling at 120/4 in their second innings with a lead of just 33 on the board. The duo’s stand helped India post 274 and set the opponents a target of 188 for victory.
The pair had batted assuredly and given little away, despite the pressure. The stand turned the series around. India, who were trailing 1-0 in the series, romped to victory and levelled the series. They would go onto win the fourth and final Test to clinch the series.
“I would say [they are the] two best Test players we have got in our side and showed so much character, technique and heart to pull the team out of trouble,” Kohli had said of the two players then. On Thursday, they lived up to the tag once again.
Men for a crisis
It’s the little things that can make or break major pursuits. In cricket, it takes very little to trigger a batting collapse. Like the Bengaluru match five months ago, India stood at a precarious position in Colombo. A wicket or two at the stage would have changed the complexion of the game.
While the situation was not as dire, it needed a couple of calm heads to find a solution. Not only did they dig India out of trouble, they were soon dominating the proceedings.
They brought up the 100-runs stand in just 106 balls. Singles were never at a premium. The scoreboard kept ticking as Sri Lanka pondered over their options. Some bad field placements only made their task difficult. The Indian pair made most of the opposition’s errors and found the gaps with ease. They batted stoically, attacking the loose balls when needed and focusing on the singles when facing a more refined spell.
They soon took control and began expressing themselves. The records tumbled. Pujara became only the seventh Indian batsman to score a century in his 50th Test. It was also his third consecutive Test century in Sri Lanka and his second successive ton at the SSC in Colombo.
On his way to a ton, Pujara also became the joint third fastest Indian player to score 4000 Test runs. Rahul Dravid had achieved the feat in the same number of innings - 84.
With the 200-run stand, Pujara and Rahane also created a unique record for India. This is now the first time that two players have scored centuries on opening days of two consecutive Tests. Incidentally, it was Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan, who had made the record in the first Test in Galle.
The duo will resume their partnership on Friday. By the looks of it, India will not want to bat again in this Test and will want to amass a sizeable total. If the two continue to bat in the same vein, expect more records to tumble.
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