Virat Kohli soaks in the moment after bringing up his double century on his home ground
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
India captain Virat Kohli scored a record-breaking double hundred to help his side retain the upper hand over Sri Lanka on the second day in Delhi.
Kohli made history by becoming the first captain to score six double centuries and was also the sixth player to score back-to-back double hundreds in the longest format.
Starting off the day on 371/4, Kohli and batsman Rohit Sharma converted their six-run partnership into a 135-run stand, during which Kohli brought up his double hundred and Rohit his fifty.
Rohit Sharma scored his eighth Test fifty
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
However, in the last over before lunch, Sri Lanka finally got a breakthrough as Rohit was caught behind off the bowling of Lakshan Sandakan for 65 off 102 balls, which included seven boundaries and two sixes.
Ravichandran Ashwin only made four runs, while Kohli went on to make a career-best 243, which came off 287 balls and included 25 boundaries, before he was given out lbw off the bowling of Sandakan.
Kohli opted to review the decision, but it went in vain as replays showed that the ball was pitching in line and going on to hit the stumps.
Shortly after, Kohli decided to declare with his side on 536/7 and put an end to Sri Lanka’s struggles, which extended beyond the ball as their players wore face masks due to the smoggy conditions.
Sandakan was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Lahiru Gamage snapped up two and Dilruwan Perera chipped in with one.
Trailing by 536 runs, Sri Lanka made the worst possible start to their innings as opener Dimuth Karunaratne was caught behind off the bowling of Mohammed Shami on the first ball.
Dhananjaya de Silva did not fare much better as he was given out lbw off the bowling of Ishant Sharma for one run.
Dilruwan and Angelo Mathews stabilised the innings with a 61-run partnership before Dilruwan was trapped lbw off the bowling of Ravindra Jadeja for 42.
Dilruwan was not given out initially, but following a review from India, the original decision was overturned.
Mathews and captain Dinesh Chandimal kept the scoreboard ticking with an unbeaten 56-run stand, during which Mathews surpassed his fifty, before bad light brought play to an end for the day.
Angelo Mathews struck eight boundaries and two sixes during his unbeaten knock of 57
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Mathews finished on 57 off 118 balls, which included eight boundaries and two sixes, while Chandimal remained undefeated on 25 off 81 deliveries, which included three boundaries.
Shami, Ishant and Jadeja claimed one wicket each.
Sri Lanka ended day two on 131/3 and will continue batting on Monday at 09:30 local time or 04:00 GMT.