PALLEKELE, Aug 13: Hardik Pandya smashed his maiden Test century before Kuldeep Yadav routed the Sri Lankan middle order, setting India up for a series whitewash on the second day of the third and final match, here.
Pandya�s aggressive batting powered India to 487 all out after starting the day at 329 for six.
Pandya�s knock, which was embellished with seven powerful sixes, punctured whatever hopes Sri Lanka had to make it a contest after ending the opening day on a high.
Kuldeep, who replaced the suspended Ravindra Jadeja in the side, scalped four Lankan batsmen after Mohammed Shami sent back both the openers to help India bundle out the hosts for a paltry 135.
With a massive 352-run lead in hand, Virat Kohli had no hesitation in enforcing the follow-on and inflict more misery on a hapless Sri Lanka.
There was enough time for India to take another wicket with Upul Tharanga dragging one on to his stumps off paceman Umesh Yadav, leaving Sri Lanka at 19 for one at end of the day in which 15 wickets fell.
Dimuth Karunaratne (12) and Malinda Pushpakumara (0) were at the crease when the stumps were drawn.
The wicket was not a bad one to bat on but listless Sri Lankan batsmen failed to apply themselves.
Dinesh Chandimal (48) and Niroshan Dickwella (29) put on 63 runs for the fifth wicket in the final session of the day.
They attacked the Indian bowling with clear mindset. It helped Lanka cross 100 in the 21st over but their partnership was broken when Dickwella was stumped off Kuldeep (4/40).
It was the start of another collapse for the hosts as two overs later, Dilruwan Perera (0) holed out in the deep off Kuldeep again.
The big wicket came when Chandimal was caught at leg gully off R Ashwin (2/22) in the 32nd over, the ball lobbing up and KL Rahul completing the easy catch. Five balls later, Kuldeep, playing only his second Test, bowled Malinda Pushpakumara (10) and then returned in the 37th over to dismiss Vishwa Fernando (0) in the same manner.
He missed his maiden Test five-wicket haul when Ashwin dismissed Lakshan Sandakan (10) an over later, caught at leg gully. Lanka lost their last six wickets for 34 runs.
Ashwin and Mohammed Shami shared the new ball for India in the second innings, and although the Lankan batsmen showed intent to fight, Umesh (1/3) managed to get the breakthrough.
Earlier, Pandya was dismissed for 108 runs (96 balls, 8 fours and 7 sixes) after adding 66 runs for the last wicket with Umesh (3) before lunch.
The former was caught at deep cover off Lakshan Sandakan (5/132) three deliveries after the break. It was the Lankan chinaman�s maiden five-wicket haul in his sixth Test.
Lanka though struggled from the very start in this short middle session. Shami (2/15) and Umesh moved the new ball very well and used the bounce available to good effect. Tharanga (5) was the first to go, caught behind off Shami in the third over, albeit he wasted a DRS review despite getting a thick edge.
Shami also sent back Karunaratne (4) cheaply, caught behind again in the 5th over. Things took a dire turn for the hosts when Kusal Mendis (18) was run-out after a mix-up with skipper Chandimal. � PTI
SCORECARD
India 1st innings: Shikhar Dhawan c Chandimal b Pushpakumara 119, Lokesh Rahul c Karunaratne b Pushpakumara 85, Cheteshwar Pujara c Mathews b Sandakan 8, Virat Kohli c Karunaratne b Sandakan 42, Ajinkya Rahane b Pushpakumara 17, R Ashwin c Dickwella b Vishwa Fernando 31, Wriddhiman Saha c Perera b Fernando 16, Hardik Pandya c Perera b Sandakan 108, Kuldeep Yadav c Dickwella b Sandakan 26, Mohammed Shami c&b Sandakan 8, Umesh Yadav batting 3. Extras: (B-6, LB-5, NB-2) 24. Total: (For all out; 122.3 overs) 487. Fall of wickets: 1-188, 2-219, 3-229, 4-264, 5-296, 6- 322, 339-7, 401-8, 421-9. Bowling: Vishwa Fernando 26-3-87-2, Lahiru Kumara 23-1-104-0, Dimuth Karunaratne 7-0-23-0, Dilruwan Perera 8-1-36-0, Lakshan Sandakan 35.3-4-132-5, Malinda Pushpakumara 23-2-82-3.
Sri Lanka 1st Innings: Dimuth Karunaratne c Saha b Shami 4, Upul Tharanga c Saha b Shami 5, Kusal Mendis run out (Ashwin/K Yadav) 18, Dinesh Chandimal c KL Rahul b Ashwin 48, Angelo Mathews lbw b Hardik Pandya 0, Niroshan Dickwella st Saha b K Yadav 29, Dilruwan Perera c H Pandya b K Yadav 0, Malinda Pushpakumara b K Yadav 10, Lakshan Sandakan c Dhawan b Ashwin 10, Vishwa Fernando b Kuldeep Yadav 0. Extras: (B-4, LB-1, W-6) 11. Total: (all out; 37.4 overs) 135. Fall of Wickets: 1-14, 2-23, 3-38, 4-38, 5-101, 6-107, 7 -125, 8-125, 9-135. Bowling: Mohammed Shami 6.5-1-17-2, Umesh Yadav 3.1-0-23-0, Hardik Pandya 6-1-28-1, Kuldeep Yadav 13-2-40-4, Ravichandran Ashwin 8.4-2-22-2.
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (following-on): Dimuth Karunaratne batting 12, Upul Tharanga b Umesh 7, Malinda Pushpakumara batting 0. Extras: 0. Total: (For 1 wkt; 13 overs) 19. Fall of wicket: 1-15. Bowling: Mohammed Shami 4-2-7-0, Ravichandran Ashwin 6-4 -5-0, Umesh Yadav 2-0-3-1, Kuldeep Yadav 1-0-4-0.
