Galle Test, Day 1: India eye big first-innings lead

GALLE: This city on the south-western tip of Sri Lanka has always welcomed visitors and tourists with open arms. The Galle International cricket stadium is no different, often laying out the red carpet for the visiting team, especially the bowlers. If it was Dale Steyn and his nine wickets last year, it was legspinner Yasir Shah and his seven-for earlier this year. Lanka's neighbours India became the latest team to get a taste of this hospitality, with Ravichandran Ashwin revelling in the limelight on the opening day of the first Test here on Wednesday . The Chennai offspinner bagged his best Test figures - 6/46 - away from home to bundle out Angelo Mathew's team for 183 in just two sessions of play , as the sun shone bright all day after three days of inclement weather. Ashwin has struggled in the past to get wickets outside India - picking up only 34 in 11 Tests on foreign soil before this match at an average of 43.64. The year, though, has seen a turn in his fortunes overseas. Wednesday's effort is his second successive five-wicket haul, following his 587 against Bangladesh in Fatullah in June.The track was just perfect for the three spinners picked by India, moist and offering turn from the outset. The pitch was under covers for the last three days due to incessant rain, and was clearly damp underneath which helped the ball to grip more. The Lankans had no hesitation in batting first on this track, which will get drier as the game progresses, but got into trouble straightaway. Losing wickets to the new ball is a crime in such conditions but the hosts lost not one but two to the Indian pair of Ishant Sharma and Varun Aaron. The stage was perfectly set for Ashwin, bowling to the toast of this nation, Kumar Sangakkara, and it was almost an anti-climax. Sangakkara (3) pushed lazily off his backfoot and was smartly pouched up by KL Rahul at silly point in Ashwin's first over. There was an immediate spring in the off-spinner's stride, as he ripped the ball and extracted disconcerting bounce from the pitch. L Thirimanne (13) walked back in Ashwin's second over with the ball kissing the outside edge of his bat and Jehan Mubarak (0) was dismissed in the offie's third over. The hosts were reduced to 605 in the first session of play - struggling to handle pace and Ashwin's guile. The final total could have looked much paltrier if wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha had pocketed a simple offering from Dinesh Chandimal off Ishant Sharma, when the batsman was on just five in the second over after lunch. Skipper Virat Kohli inexplicably gave Ashwin a break till the first drinks break after lunch and the Lankans made merry in this period, taking Aaron especially to the cleaners. Mathews (64, 92b, 4x4, 1x6) and Chandimal (59, 77b, 9x4) put on a stand of 79 for the sixth wicket -the best of the Lankan innings making the most of Ashwin's absence from the attack. Ashwin's reintroduction in the 42nd over brought immediate success as Mathews' flick was plucked off brilliantly by Rohit Sharma at short-leg. The next man, Dhammika Prasad (0), was trapped leg before. Ashwin completed his five-wicket haul in 10.3 overs -the fastest he's ever reached this landmark. Amit Mishra (220) joined in to bag some of the lower-order spoils, including Chandimal, as the Lankans were bundled out in just 49.4 overs. India managed to erase a massive chunk of the deficit, reaching 128 for 2, trailing by just 55 runs at the end of the day's play. Shikhar Dhawan was unbeaten on 53 (103b, 6x4) and skipper Kohli was batting on 45 (77b, 7x4) - clearly enjoying the best of the conditions on offer. The day without doubt belonged to India, who after a long gap dominated all sessions of play away from home.