Sri Lanka vs India 1st Test: First day's play in pictures

India ended day 1 in a commanding position against Sri Lanka at Galle. After bowling out the home team for just 183 in the first innings, Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan ensured that they finished the day just 55 runs short of the 1st innings total. They are expected to make the advantage count tomorrow and build a healthy lead. Ravichandran Ashwin was the star of the day as he picked 6 wickets in the Lankan innings including that of star batsman Kumar Sangakkara. You can now relive the day’s play with these 10 images:

#1 Galle says goodbye

Billboards carrying images of the legend

As we all know already, Kumar Sangakkara will be retiring from international Cricket after the 2^nd Test. Fans did turn up in numbers at Galle to say goodbye to the legend and hence many billboards were spotted outside the stadium.

#2 This is what they are playing for

Who will be holding it in a few days time?

Virat would want to lead India to a series win in Lanka after 22 years and on the other hand, Angelo would want his side to bounce back from the defeat against Pakistan.

#3 The early strike

Ishant bowled well with the new ball

Ishant Sharma showed why he is now the leader of the Indian attack as he removed Dimuth Karunaratne for just 9 to put the brakes on the home side very early in the innings.

#4 The drop that didn\'t matter

Dhawan would have been one relieved man

Kaushal Silva has been in good form and dropping a sitter off him early on would have hurt the Indian side pretty bad. But Dhawan made up for it a couple of overs later as he took a neat catch to dismiss the same batsman off the same bowler.

#5 The legend disappoints

A dejected Sanga walks back

Like mentioned earlier, many fans turned up for this man. They wanted to see a Sanga special, but their dream was squashed by Ashwin who removed him for just 5 runs.

#6 The star of the day

Continues to impress

Ashwin didn’t stop there. He went on to dismantle the Lankan middle order by picking wickets at regular intervals. He ended up with a 6-wicket haul. Only Mathews and Chandimal put up some resistance with half-centuries to their name.

#7 The pattern continued

Rahul failed to impress

Just like how it was the case with Sri Lanka, India too had a disastrous start as they lost KL Rahul very early to Dhammika Prasad. It will be interesting to see what happens now if Murali Vijay becomes fit to play the next Test.

#8 Out twice in 7 deliveries

Mathews asked questions

Rohit Sharma came in at number 3 and displayed a front foot defense that wouldn’t make his predecessors proud. He was given out LBW, but luck was on his side as the bowler overstepped. He failed to learn from his mistake as seven deliveries later, he got out in similar fashion.

#9 Dhawan delivers

Dhawan scored a 50

Despite losing two early wickets, Shikhar Dhawan kept calm and went on to impress everyone. He ended the day with a 50 and is expected to carry on the good work on day 2.

#10 The rock solid skipper

A very important innings for Kohli

Virat at the other end was solid as well and ended up with an unbeaten 45 to his name. He hasn’t been among the runs off late and tomorrow presents a perfect opportunity for him to make amends.