Tillakaratne Dilshan cracked a fluent 109 as Sri Lanka recovered from three quick top-order jolts to leave the crucial third and final cricket Test against India evenly poised at the end of the opening day.
Electing to bat, Dilshan stole the limelight with his 11th Test century as the
visitors recovered from a jittery 188 for four to reach a comfortable 366 for eight at close on the opening day at the Brabourne stadium which saw Test cricket returning to the venue after 36 years.
The Indians had themselves to blame for allowing the Lankans off the hook as the bowling lacked consistency to put pressure on the batsmen who managed to score at a brisk pace right through the day on a testing Brabourne track.
The Lankans got off to a good start but slipped to 188 for four from a comfortable 128 for one with captain Kumar Sangakkara (18), Mahela Jayawardene (29) and Thilan Samaraweera (1) returning to the pavilion in quick succession.
Angelo Mathews (86) and Muthiah Muralitharan (0) were at the crease at stumps on an eventful day which saw the Indians bowling well only in patches.
The 33-year-old Dilshan again tormented the Indians with his second century in the series and his sixth this year while Tharanga Paranavitana (53) and Prasanna Jayawardene (43) were the other notable contributors.