Sreesanth tears through SL

Shanthakumaran Sreesanth made a triumphant return to the Test arena as he put India on course for victory in the second Test.

Second Test Match
Kanpur - Day Three
India 642 (G Gambhir 167, R Dravid 144, V Sehwag 131, Yuvraj Singh 67, V V S Laxman 63, H M R K B Herath 5-121) v Sri Lanka 229 (S Sreesanth 5-75) & 57-4 Shanthakumaran Sreesanth made a triumphant return to the Test arena with the ball as he put India firmly on course for victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka. Playing in his first Test since April last year, Sreesanth claimed five wickets to help the hosts skittle out Sri Lanka for just 229 in their first innings. That left the tourists in arrears by a massive 356 runs and, Mahendra Singh Dhoni having enforced the follow-on, Sreesanth then chipped in with the prized scalp of Tillakaratne Dilshan as Sri Lanka made a wobbly start to their second innings. They eventually reached stumps at the end of day three in Kanpur on 57-4 and now look certain to fall 1-0 behind in the three-match series. It was man-of-the-moment Sreesanth who produced India's first breakthrough of the day as he induced an edge behind from opener Tharanga Paranavitana who added just eight to his overnight score of 30 - Dhoni taking a smart diving catch in front of first slip. Bowling an extended nine-over spell, he then came up with a crucial double breakthrough as he bowled Kumar Sangakkara (44) via an inside edge and he repeated the dose to remove Thilan Samaraweera (two) in similar fashion shortly afterwards. With Harbhajan Singh joining the party to dismiss Angelo Mathews for just a single, Sri Lanka headed to the lunch break in disarray at 134-5. But the pairing of Mahela Jayawardene (47) and Prasanna Jayawardene (39) came together and point on a fifth-wicket partnership of 60 to offer them a semblance of hope. But it was Sreesanth who ended their resistance, tempting wicketkeeper-batsman Prasanna Jayawardene to slash at a wide one and offer a chance which Dhoni gratefully snaffled.

Surge of wickets

It signalled another surge of wickets with Mahela Jayawardene falling after giving debutant left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha the charge only to pick out Sachin Tendulkar at mid-on. The final three wickets fell for just 25 runs with Sreesanth pegging back Rangana Herath's off stump to secure only his second five-wicket haul in Test cricket, Ojha trapping Muttiah Muralitharan leg before to finish with two for 37 from 23 overs and Harbhajan snaring last-man Chanaka Welegedara in front. Having been put in again, things did not improve for the tourists as Dilshan departed having made 11 from 14 balls as he offered another chance to Dhoni to give Sreesanth another success. Occasional off-spinner Virendar Sehwag then helped himself to a wicket as he had fellow opener Paranavitana adjudged leg before for 20 and Sri Lanka suffered a devastating late double blow as Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene both fell in space of one run. Jayawardene perished as he was run out responding to a poor call for Sangakkara, while the Sri Lanka skipper soon followed him back to the pavilion as he was bowled by Harbhajan. Angelo Mathews (two not out) and Thilan Samaraweera (one not out) were at the crease when stumps were drawn, but it now looks a lost cause for the Sri Lankans.