India vs Sri Lanka 2017, 1st Test: Day 1, 5 talking points

India made use of a fabulous batting track and some toothless bowling from the Sri Lankans to race to 399/3 at stumps on Day 1. Shikhar Dhawan's scintillating knock, studded with 31 hits to the fence was the highlight of the day although Cheteshwar Pujara also composed a fine 12th Test hundred. Handing a debut to Hardik Pandya, India opted to bat on a heavenly batting track and although they lost Abhinav Mukund early, Dhawan and Pujara looked in great touch.

The Delhi southpaw was particularly harsh on a wayward Lahiru Kumara and a woeful Dilruwan Perera. Although Herath and Nuwan Pradeep, Sri Lanka's best bowler on show, did damage control, Dhawan was unstoppable. His blitzkrieg reached its peak between lunch and tea during which he made 126 runs. Dhawan eventually fell to Pradeep on 190.

The tidy Lankan pacer then had Virat Kohli with a sharp bouncer to send a wave of relief in the Lankan camp. There was no reprieve for Lanka though as India continued to pile on the runs. Asela Gunaratne, their most promising player, injured himself while he put down a Dhawan sitter and will play no further role in the game, further denting Lanka's chances.

Brief Scores: India 399/3 (Dhawan 190, Pujara 144, Pradeep 3/64)

Take a glance at the talking points of day 1 from Galle.

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#5 India's opening troubles in away Tests continue

Abhinav Mukund fell early in India's innings

India do not boast of the best opening partnerships in overseas Tests. While the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have been pretty good on home Tests, the numbers take a sound beating in overseas Tests and the trend continued in Sri Lanka.

Deprived of the services of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay, India were forced to go into Galle with Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund. The latter looked shaky right from the word go despite Lahiru Kumara offering quite a lot of freebies at the start of the innings.

Nuwan Pradeep eventually forced an outside edge to end the opening partnership at 27.

India's opening stands in the 2015 series in Sri Lanka were even worse with the highest being 15. In fact, since 2012, India have just one 100+ opening stand in Tests with Dhawan and Vijay putting on 283 in Bangladesh.

The trend is worrying and the Galle Test has just emphasised India's opening woes overseas.

#4 Kumara's wayward lines, a dropped chance as India come back swiftly

Dhawan took a special liking to Lahiru Kumara hitting him all around the park

Lahiru Kumara was way off the mark with his lines right from the start of the innings. One of Sri Lanka's few bowlers capable of hitting the 140kmph mark, Kumara looked unsettled with the new ball.

He was all over the place, bowling wide lines, half-volleys and full tosses. When he finally got one right to Dhawan, the opener edged to second slip, where Asela Gunaratne put down a fairly easy catch.

The fast bowler conceded 36 runs in his first six overs enabling India to get off to a flying start. Shikhar Dhawan brought up his half-century in 62 balls as India raced to 92 in 22 overs. In spite of Nuwan Pradeep bowling his heart out from one end, Lanka lacked solid support from the other resulting in an awry start.

#3 Dhawan makes Lanka pay

Shikhar Dhawan missed out on a double ton by 10 runs

Shikhar Dhawan was in no mood to tolerate Sri Lanka's hapless bowling attack and bombarded them to all corners of a beautiful batting track in Galle. The southpaw went on to smash his fifth Test hundred off a mere 110 balls. Incidentally, his last hundred in Tests had also come at the same venue.

It was a more assured Dhawan on display as he effortlessly moved his feet and stepped out to the spinners. Full balls were greeted with a perfectly straight bat and he dispatched anything short or wide from the bowlers. Gunaratne had put him down in the 14th over and he paid them for the miss.

Once he moved past his hundred, Dhawan went berserk. He had already switched on the aggression button after lunch but what followed after his hundred was beyond expectations. He raced from 60 to 190 before tea. The Delhite looked like heading towards a maiden double hundred but skewed a shot off Pradeep to be dismissed for a career best 190 off 168 balls.

The 126 runs he scored between lunch and tea was the most by any batsman in Test cricket in the past 63 years. It was also the second highest between any two sessions by an Indian player after Sehwag's 133.

Stats courtesy: @MazherArshad

#2 Pujara's uncharacteristic knock

Pujara played some good looking shots and remained unbeaten on 144 at close of play

Such was Shikhar Dhawan's influence that Cheteshwar Pujara looked rather positive right from the start of his innings. Buoyed by the free flow of runs at the other end, Pujara dug into the hapless Lankan bowlers to notch up his 12th Test hundred.

Only Virat Kohli with 13 and Sunil Gavaskar with 19 have more Test hundreds in 49 Tests for India.

Usually a symbol of patience and character, Pujara was intolerant to Sri Lanka's ill disciplined attack, rotating strike easily and punishing anything in his zone. The highlight of Pujara's knock was the manner in which he milked Herath for boundaries by meeting the ball as soon as it pitched.

His wristy flicks and gorgeous drives were on fine display in Galle. Dhawan and Pujara put on 253 runs for the second wicket, India's highest against Sri Lanka in Tests. Pujara remained unbeaten on 144 as India raced to 399 by close of play.

#1 Gunaratne injury handicaps Lanka

Sri Lanka suffered a huge blow as Gunaratne was ruled out of the Test with a broken thumb

Asela Gunaratne has been Sri Lanka's most promising find since the retirements of Jayawardena and Sangakkara. With unwavering commitment and fabulous understanding of game situations, Gunaratne has been a prominent member of Sri Lankan teams across formats.

With India touring, Lanka needed the all-rounder to strengthen the middle-order but things weren't going their way.

In the 14th over, Dhawan nicked one from Lahiru Kumara to second slip where Gunaratne made a mess of a simple chance. He was soon down on the floor and off to the dressing room as the ball had struck his left thumb.

It was later revealed that the all-rounder had been taken to Colombo for an operation on his thumb.