Colombo- Sri Lanka buried a hapless India under a mountain of runs as they relied on skipper Kumar Sangakkara's seventh double century and Mahela Jayawardene's sparkling ton to push the visitors on the backfoot in the second cricket Test on Tuesday.
Sangakkara led from the front with an imposing 219 while Jayawardene (174) notched up his 27th century as the hosts declared the first innings at a mammoth 642 for four.
In reply, India were 95 for no loss but still trailing by 547 runs at close on the second day which saw only two wickets fall and as many as 425 runs being scored on a placid. Sinhalese Sports Club.
It was yet another day of toil and frustration for the Indian bowlers who failed to make much of an impression against the Lankan batsmen, who scored at a brisk pace ght through the day.
Sehwag (64) and Murali Vijay (22) batted in contrasting fashion as India survived 18 overs in the last session of the day without a blot on its scorecard.
The sound start, best in the series so far, also lifted the gloom over the India camp as they worked hard without much success in the field for more than five sessions.
Perched on top the Test rankings, India need to win this match as a defeat would not only take away their number one rank but also extend their winless streak in a Test series in the Island nation.
Sehwag was his usual aggressive self and was harsh on the Lankan bowlers, particularly paceman Dammika Prasad, whom he hit thrice in third over to set the tone for the Indian reply.
Exploiting the life less track, like their counterparts, India scored quickly and at an impressive run-rate of 5.27.
Sehwag, the only centurion on this tour for the visitors, scored 48 of his 64 runs in boundaries while Vijay batted cautiously from the other end.
Resuming the day at 312 for two, Sri Lanka started from where they had left on day one as Sangakkara and Jayawardene went about murdering the clueless Indian attack effortlessly.
The Lankan skipper, overnight 130, did not take much time to complete his double century and with Jayawardene raised a 193-run partnership for the third wicket.
Sangakkara's knock came in 335 balls and was laced with 29 hits to the boundary.
Thilan Samaraweera (76) joined his vice-captain in the middle and remained their till the declaration.
As Jayawardene missed out on getting his double hundred, the Lankans asked India to bat.
He was caught by debutant Suresh Raina off Harbhajan Singh while pushing hard to get his double hundred.
Jayawardene and Samaraweera raised a 176-run stand for the fourth wicket to add to India's misery and frustration.
Earlier, Sehwag removed Sangakkara just after the lunch, but not before the Sri Lankan captain registered his seventh double century.
Sangakkara made 219 before Rahul Dravid took a sharp catch at slip off Sehwag to give India a rare moment of joy.
After Sangakkara's departure, new man in Samaraweera quickly got into the groove as he turned away a Pragyan Ojha delivery between slip and backward point for his first boundary. He then hit a Harbhajan Singh's short and wide delivery to the fence.
On the other hand, Jayawardene looked composed and negotiated the Indian bowlers with ease.
Bruised and battered by the Lankan batters, the Indians committed numerous errors in the field as Jayawardene and Samarweera stepped up the accelerator to enable their captain declare after a safe first innings total.
Jayawardene treated Indian bowlers with disdain as he dispatched Abhimanyu Mithun over the long-on boundary.
The fact that 400 runs for Sri Lanka came in a record 435 minutes and 651 balls testified to a placid pitch and some lackluster bowling from the Indians.
It was an ominous start to the proceedings for India as Sangakkara hammered two consecutive boundaries of Mithun in the first over of the second day.
The 50-run partnership with his deputy Jayawardene came off 117 balls.
Making their intentions clear to pile up as much as possible to make India bat again and prise out a result, the Sri Lankan batsmen continued their onslaught against the insipid Indian bowling. PTI
