India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 2nd Test, Day 1: 5 things we learnt from the day

Defiant half-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal did little to alter Lanka's fortunes on the first day of the second Test as Ishant Sharma and the spin twins - Ashwin and Jadeja - had the visitors at their mercy. From 122/3, Lanka collapsed to 205 all out, the last six of them falling for 45 runs.

Ashwin picked up four while Ishant and Jadeja shared three apiece to skittle out the Lankans. The Tamil Nadu off-spinner was at his best, befuddling the batsmen with exceptional deception in flight and unsurprisingly one of the most vital wickets in the Lankan line-up - that of the skipper, Dinesh Chandimal - fell to him. India ended the day at 9/1, losing Lokesh Rahul to Lahiru Gamage.

#5 India's obsession with Rohit Sharma has no end

Rohit Sharma the Test batsman has not taken off

There was ruckus the moment India announced their Test team for Sri Lanka with Rohit Sharma as the back-up batsman. They had Karun Nair, who had slammed a triple hundred a few Tests ago or Shreyas Iyer, piling up runs for fun in the Ranji Trophy, at their disposal. Yet, Sharma, based on his ODI exploits, was preferred despite his obvious shortcomings in the longest format of the game.

When Vijay Shankar was called up to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India seemed to be headed the right way. They had an option to try Vijay at no.6 before the South African series and his bowling was also expected to come in handy at Nagpur. But India sprung a surprise (more of a nightmare it has to be said!) when they opted to pick six batsman - Rohit being one among them - and deviate from their usual composition.

#4 Karunaratne shows grit and mettle

Karunaratne has been in exceptional touch of late

There is no doubting who Sri Lanka's best bet with the bat in Test cricket currently is. The southpaw, Dimuth Karunaratne, has been a lonely figure in Sri Lanka's top order, churning out hard runs while his teammates succumbed meekly. He is only the second batsman after Dean Elgar to notch up 1000 Test runs in 2017. A batting average of 43.47 and three hundreds decorate his year.

The Lankan opener was once again grinding it out in the middle in an intense session where the Indian seamers and spinners relentlessly probed the right channels. The composure and technique he displayed stood out in his half-century. It seemed like he was headed towards another three-figure mark when Ishant Sharma ran in and trapped him in front.

#3 Ishant's near perfect day could seal ticket for South Africa

Ishant got a lucky opportunity with Shami picking up a niggle

Ishant Sharma may not even have played this Test if not for Mohammad Shami's niggle. But on day 1 he put his hand up and bowled like the seamer India wanted him to be several years ago. With Ishant, it was always about lack of consistency and energy. Today he altered both of those and put forward a compelling case for the upcoming overseas tours.

Sadeera Samarawickrama was the first to fall to the lanky pace bowler, nicking a length delivery that seamed away to first slip. Having struck early, Ishant gained confidence and bowled nine overs in the first 22 overs of the innings. When he returned he dismissed the persistent Karunaratne and broke a 62 run partnership that was starting to bother the hosts.

#2 Jadeja - Ashwin into the act

Ashwin whipped off the cream of Lanka's batting

If the spin duo had gone wicketless in Kolkata, it was only an exception to the rule in India. At Nagpur, on day 1, they were back with a bang, nipping out seven wickets between them and foiling Sri Lanka's budding innings. Ashwin tested the patience of Lahiru Thirimanne and eventually had him bowled off a sweep shot after he played out 58 balls for his nine runs.

Jadeja then struck with his uncanny arm ball, Mathews the victim this time, as Lanka were reduced to 60/3 on a decent batting strip. While Chandimal and Karunaratne did their best to resurrect the innings, the fall of the latter triggered a collapse. Jadeja and Ashwin were into the act as four wickets fell in the space of 24 runs and 11 overs.

#1 Sri Lanka's sorry story continues

Lankan skipper Dinesh Chandimal put up a fight before playing a horror reverse sweep

Sri Lanka and batting collapses have been the flavour of the season. Although they lost three by the time sixty was up on the board, there seemed to be a method and composure behind their batting. Karunaratne was adamant, defending anything and everything thrown at him before Ishant struck him down. But his wicket proved to be the turning point.

Dickwella fell to a wild slog and Shanaka was undone by an Ashwin special. But with Chandimal in there Sri Lanka still had hope. And then Dilruwan Perera, at the other end, survived one review and fell to another, the second one evidently frustrating the Lankan skipper who ended up playing a horror reverse sweep next over to be trapped in front. Collapses have become a talking point in almost every Lankan innings these days and day one at Nagpur was no different.