After a wonderful day of cricket, this 2nd Test match between Sri Lanka and India is perfectly poised heading into Day 2 in Colombo on Friday.
KL Rahul took the plaudits with the bat on Thursday for India, scoring a measured hundred, the kind of knock, which suggested yet again how long a career he is going to have in Test matches.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma also struck half-centuries for the away team on Day 1, but India will rue those late wickets that allowed Sri Lanka back into the game and ensured the home team would not go to sleep on Thursday in a cumbersome mood.
Kohli will know he should have carried on and scored a hundred with Rahul, while Rohit got out in the last over of the day, getting caught in front off an Angelo Mathews delivery.
Wriddhiman Saha is still batting for India, after stonewalling the Sri Lanka bowlers for 43 balls, and the likes of R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ishant Sharma will need to stay with the wicketkeeper/batsman for as long as possible on Day 2, to take India's overnight score of 319/6 in 87.2 overs to one near the 400 mark, if not above.
India would have loved to have Rohit at the crease at the start of the day's play on Friday, but with that late wicket, the onus has now fallen on Saha to lead from the front with the bat.
Ashwin and Mishra are both capable batsmen down the order, while Ishant is as good at defending as any tail-ender in the world, with Umesh Yadav, in for Varun Aaron for this Test match, capable of hitting a few tail-enderish boundaries as well.
If the final four wickets can add 100 runs or more, it will bring the frustration factor to the fore amongst the Sri Lanka camp, who will want to clean the tail up as quickly as possible in the morning.
However long the India batsmen bat, though, there is a really good chance that we will get to see Kumar Sangakkara bat at the P Sara Oval on Day 2.
The great left-hander will retire at the end of this Test match, and if there is one batsman that everyone wants to see scoring runs in this game, it is the man who has made run-scoring look ridiculously easy.
The crowd will, no doubt, come in, anticipating an early end to the India batting innings, while wanting Sangakkara to get as much time in the middle as possible.
It remains to be seen if Sangakkara will walk in at No.3 or No.4, but, in a strange way, a lot of the supporters, will almost be willing one (or two) of those Sri Lanka wickets to fall relatively quickly so that they can watch their maestro in action.
Where to Watch Live
Get the Day 3 Live Blog HERE
Get the Day 2 Live Blog and Score HERE
Sri Lanka vs India is scheduled to begin at 10 am local time (10 am IST, 5.30 am BST, 12.30 am ET). Sony Six and Sony Kix will show Day 2 of the second Test match live in India, while the live streaming option is available on Livsports.
Viewers in Sri Lanka and the rest of the subcontinent can watch the match action of this India vs Sri Lanka Test match on Sony Six.
Audience in the US can watch India vs Sri Lanka live on Willow TV early in the morning, with the live stream option on Willow Online.
